The Cipher

An ordinary boy prepares to save his extraordinary friend from the machinations of the government in this tech-savvy young adult thriller.

“A thrill-a-minute ride.”—David Baldacci, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Travis Devine series

“Weaves a twisty, paranoid tale of technology, secrets, and lies.”—Publishers Weekly

cipher ('saı-fər), noun
1. the key to decoding a secret message
2. a person or thing of no importance

Robert “Smiles” Smylie is not a genius.

He feels like he’s surrounded by them, though, from his software mogul dad to his brainy girlfriend to his oddball neighbor Ben, a math prodigy. When Ben cracks an ancient, real-life riddle central to modern data encryption systems, he suddenly holds the power to unlock every electronic secret in the world—and Smiles finally has a chance to prove his own worth.

Smiles hatches a plan to protect Ben from the government agents who will stop at nothing to get their hands on his discovery. But as he races from a Connecticut casino to the streets of Boston, enlisting the help of an alluring and brilliant girl, Smiles comes to realize the most explosive secrets don’t lie between the covers of Ben’s notebook—they’re buried in his own past.