The Depths of the Sea - Tapa dura

"Jamie Metzl has written a powerful novel of hope that combines a fresh voice with an intelligent, exciting, and fast-paced story. His characters come alive as they try desperately to stay on course in the muddled, violent landscape of the Thai-Cambodian refugee camps. He has drawn a vivid and compelling portrait of a region and a people struggling to recover from years of war."- U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden "Jamie Metzl is the rare novelist who can draw upon realworld experiences as both an aidworker and a White House official. In "The Depths of the Sea," Metzl has given us a gripping and vivid thriller that leads readers on a trail of gun-running, Cold War intrigue, betrayal, and moral ambiguity. Metzl reminds us that the costs of U.S. interventions and retreats are lived one individual at a time."- Samantha Power, Pulitizer Prize winning author of "A Problem from Hell: American and the Age of Genocide" "In "The Depths of the Sea," Jamie Metzl has succeeded in combining an entertaining thriller with a fascinating look at the dark political history of Southeast Asia. He is a writer of astonishing erudition and talent. A tour de force."- Richard Holbrooke, former UN Ambassador "Jamie Metzl has written a taut, suspenseful novel that captures the passions and the idealism of another era, while keeping the reader engrossed in a page-turning adventure. His vivid evocation of the experiences of humanitarian workers in the refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border is effective and deeply moving. A compelling debut."- Shashi Tharoor, author of "The Great Indian Novel" and "Riot" Jamie Metzl takes us into an Asian intrigue that spans continents, and bridges worlds....I read this book in Iraq.. and it took me beyond armed camps and concertina wire and suspicion into the possibilities of the human heart..." - Jacki Lyden, author of "Daughter of the Queen of Sheeba"

It's 1979 and Morgan O'Reilly, a dispirited CIA desk officer is desperately trying to bury his memories. Sent to Cambodia as a marine during the Vietnam War, he was given the task of creating a secret spy unit of orphaned street children. At the end of the war, he was only able to get one child out of the country, his surrogate son, Sophal. Years later, Sophal, who is now a CIA agent, disappears on a secret mission in the Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand and O'Reilly is the only person capable of finding him. Filled with the fascinating workings of the Cambodian refugee camps, the life or death politics of Washington, D.C., and the inner workings of the personalities that are drawn to such extreme circumstances, The Depths Of The Sea is a thriller that both entertains and educates.