Top End — Steven L. Thompson

1989: The Cold War is nearing its climax, but the hidden machinery of the Soviet Union's espionage engine continues to run smoothly. Moscow decides it needs the top-secret software and hardware developed by Moss Electronics for its Viper remotely piloted vehicle, so the word goes out to the men who will do anything for personal gain, among them, Australian billionaire Rupert Halford. When the company's equipment is stolen, Moss Electronics' VP Max Moss is determined to find and retrieve it. The search takes him to Darwin, in Australia's “Top End,” where the most important race of Max's life begins. Charging across the Outback in a Range Rover, chased by Halford's men in aircraft, trucks, and cars, Max must evade Halford all the way across the continent and then back to California. Calling on new and old friends and allies, as well as all his own strength, speed, and savvy, Max is up against a foe unlike any he's ever faced, a man who can buy anything and anyone -- and does, in his ruthless attempt to catch Max and deliver the super-secret equipment to the desperate men in the Kremlin whose world is collapsing.