never: a novel  <b>the new must-read epic from master storyteller ken follett: more than a thriller, it’s an action-packed, globe-spanning drama set in the present day.<br /> <br /> “a compelling story, and only too realistic.” —lawrence h. summers, former u.s. treasury secretary<br /><br /> </b>“every catastrophe begins with a little problem that doesn’t get fixed.” so says pauline green, president of the united states, in follett’s nerve-racking drama of international tension.<br /> <br /> a shrinking oasis in the sahara desert; a stolen us army drone; an uninhabited japanese island; and one country’s secret stash of deadly chemical poisons: all these play roles in a relentlessly escalating crisis.<br /> <br /> struggling to prevent the outbreak of world war are a young woman intelligence officer; a spy working undercover with jihadists; a brilliant chinese spymaster; and pauline herself, beleaguered by a populist rival for the next president election.<br /><br /> <i>never</i> is an extraordinary novel, full of heroines and villains, false prophets and elite warriors, jaded politicians and opportunistic revolutionaries. it brims with cautionary wisdom for our times, and delivers a visceral, heart-pounding read that transports readers to the brink of the unimaginable.