Breakpoint — Richard A. Clarke

A decade after 9/11, crucial routers sit in unprotected buildings, exposed to attack by anyone wanting to disrupt worldwide Internet traffic. And that is exactly what happens one March morning. Ten truck bombs explode in five states -- and one by one, the lights on the National Communications System's Big Board start blinking red. D.C., New York, Boston ... The stock exchange loses communication, as do U.S. forces overseas. China is the first, but not the only, suspect. Intelligence Agent Susan Connor, NYPD Detective Jimmy Foley, and a hacker known as Soxster race against time as the strands holding civilization together begin to fray...