| Matt Pittman is a journalist who is down on his luck. His son died of cancer, his wife left him, and he is too depressed to go on. He is on the verge of pulling the trigger to kill himself when his boss at the newspaper calls and asks him to do a favor. Since his boss was so helpful when his son was dying he decides he can do this one thing before he goes ahead and kills himself. His assignment is to write an obituary chronicling the life of Jonathan Wingate, a diplomat who is on death's door and expected to die at any minute. Pittman had tried to talk to him seven years ago when there were rumors of a government conspiracy to sell nuclear wapons overseas. Everywhere he turned was a roadblock. He goes to Wingate's house where he is on life support. He watches through the window and sees the man's fellow diplomats talking about him. Once they leave, he sees Wingate struggling to breathe. Without thinking he breaks in and resets the man's oxygen tubes back into place. Evidently the diplomats didn't want his life saved--but why?
Immediately Pittman finds himself pursued by men with guns as he runs away from the mansion. He is immediately investigated by cops who accuse him of killing Wingate, because his fingerprints were conveniently on the oxygen tube. But he tried to help, not hurt. It's no use. No one is listening. Pittman must find out on his own what is really going on so he can find out who was trying to kill him and why. Once he finds that out he'll know who really killed Wingate. He has to be careful though because everyone who helps him seems to end up dead too. He also meets up with nurse Jill, who treated Wingate in the hospital and has important information that helps. She joins forces with him and he finds a reason to go on living, after he has done the favor for his boss. | ||
|
Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) Time/era of story: Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes Cloak & Dagger Plotlets: Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book descript. of violence and chases - 30 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Who's the terrorist enemy here? Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - an organization Age: - 60's-90's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - power The antagonists are: - government bureaucracy How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - Northeast City? Yes City: - Dirty, dangerous (like New York) Misc setting - fancy mansion Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Unusual forms of death - asphyxiation Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
||