With the Nuclear Arms Reduction Treaty set to be ratified by the US and the USSR in Geneva, it seems that international relations have finally stabilised.

But when a double agent reveals that the Soviets are preparing to launch a series of laser weapons into space, the West is suddenly defenceless and vulnerable.

A panic-stricken US President puts pilot Mitchell Gant at the head of a mission, code-named "Winter Hawk". The operation is clear: a covert dash in and out of the Soviet Union to retrieve the double agent before the weapons can be launched. But with the clock ticking and the Russian "Hinds" on his tail, Gant's voyage across the snowy Russian border is far from simple

Set against a background of Cold War tension and nuclear threat, Winter Hawk is another icy Craig Thomas thriller, perfect for fans of Desmond Bagley and Frederick Forsyth.

Cardiff-born, internationally bestselling author Craig Thomas (1942–2011) wrote eighteen novels between 1976 and 1998. His first novel, Rat Trap, was published in 1976, swiftly followed by the international bestseller, Firefox. It was after the success of this book that he left his job as an English teacher and became a full-time novelist. Thomas went on to write sixteen further novels, including three featuring the Firefox pilot, Mitchell Gant: Firefox Down, Winter Hawk and A Different War. Firefox attracted the attention of Hollywood and in 1982 was made into a film starring and directed by Clint Eastwood. The novel is credited with inventing the techno-thriller genre.