The Soviet leader was acclaimed as the architect of Glasnost and Perestrolka, policies that gave the citizens of the Soviet Union, what Ronald Reagan called 'the Evil Empire,' a chance to be free. He even tore down the Berlin Wall. But at the same time, under his rule, the Chernobyl nuclear facility exploded and its destruction was concealed. Citizens demanding independence in the Baltic states died. Soldiers wielding shovels brutally suppressed protesters...

The Cold War's last act was a magnificent dark drama played out in the shadows of the Kremlin. O'Clery has written a unique and truly suspenseful thriller of the day the Soviet Union died, combining internal power plays, shifting alliances, betrayals, and three mysterious colonels carrying the briefcase with the nuclear codes.