Priority One

by Bryant Wieneke

Deep within a canyon on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, a shadowy group has gained control of enriched uranium. As a B-2 stealth bomber bears down on the area, a CIA agent and a USAID worker fight with each other as much as with the terrorists, trying to prevent nuclear weapons from falling into the wrong hands. Immersed in the Sahara's exotic landscape and culture, the reader is introduced to local characters whose past interactions with foreigners have left them bitter and resentful. The exploitation of their homeland by colonialists leads two young men into local rebellion and eventually into a terrorist group that has frighteningly easy access to the ingredients of a nuclear weapon. Priority One is a thoughtful thriller, testing the proposition that a military response is the only effective deterrent to terrorism. The American characters bring different perspectives to one of the most difficult issues of our time, while the motives of a seductive Russian aid worker are shrouded in mystery. There are divergent points of view on America's global responsibility in the post 9/11 world - just as there should be with such a complex subject - and no one is safe from doubt. The parallel plot lines converge in the exciting fast-paced final section of Priority One. But even as the characters move toward achieving the primary mission of destroying the uranium facility, they react unpredictably to the pressures of combat, and the door is left open for the next threat in the unpredictable world of the 21st century.

220 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2005

About the author

In May 2016 I received a stunning diagnosis of metastatic melanoma from UCLA's Dr. Bartosz Chmielowski and my oncologist in Santa Barbara, Dr. Mark Abate. These two amazing doctors agreed that I was a good candidate for the new miracle immunotherapy drugs, which activate one's immune system to fight cancer.

At the time, cancer permeated my body. It was found in my lymph nodes and on virtually every organ in my body. Less than a year later, I have gained my weight back and am living almost normally with minimal side effects. My story is told in "Melanoma without a Cause,: How the New Miracle Immunotherapy Drugs and My Own Immune System Helped Me Fight Stage Four Cancer", a book now available on Amazon.com. By sharing my experience, I hope to bring understanding of the immunotherapy process to cancer patients and their families. Immunotherapy drugs are a huge breakthrough in cancer treatment, and many people are still alive because of them.