Terrorists smuggle two nuclear bombs into the United States through a Mexican drug tunnel in a bold plot to destroy the United States. While world attention is riveted on the fiery destruction they aim to bring to downtown Los Angeles with the first nuke, they intend to detonate the second bomb at the bottom of an experimental NASA geothermal well located in a remote corner of Yellowstone National Park. The nuclear blast will rip open Yellowstone's sizzling caldera, triggering a massive eruption that will obliterate half of the United States.
FBI agent Malcolm Hendricks, special agent in charge of a counterterrorism task force in Los Angeles, thwarts the LA bomb only seconds before two of the suicide bombers can detonate it near USC where the agent's daughter is giving her PhD thesis defense. He has learned the identity of the terrorist leader, Abu Hadi al-Maliki, through actions he took in defiance of his superiors in Washington. In recognition of his bold work, the president puts him in charge of finding Maliki and the second nuke, but the only clue Hendricks has to go on is a trail of bodies that ends in Idaho near Yellowstone.
All that stands in the way of the fanatical plot are Hendricks' relentless pursuit, the resourcefulness of a NASA spokeswoman, and the brave resistance of the few rig workers who survive Maliki's brutal takeover of the drilling operation.
Cauldron of Wrath is based on the geopolitical realities of the moment, particularly Islamic terrorism sponsored by Iran either directly or through proxies such as Hezbollah. Abu Hadi al-Maliki is modeled on the ideologically driven fanatics of Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic State, and other Middle Eastern terror groups.
