The Gamov Incident

The Cold War is over and CIA officer Cody Ballantine, exiled to the newly opened consulate in the Russian Far East, receives an unexpected visitor. In a conference room overlooking Golden Horn Bay, Andrei Danilov, a distinguished looking older gentleman, claims to be Captain Andrew Thompson, an American aviator, perhaps the lone survivor of a reconnaissance aircraft shot down by Soviet MiGs in 1954.


A cautiously skeptical Ballantine sends Danilov's photograph, Air Force serial number, and fingerprints to CIA headquarters. But no official records--other than the shootdown near Cape Gamov--exist to verify Danilov's claim. With little documentation, Ballantine must resolve troublesome questions: How could an American MIA survive and prosper in Siberia for 38 years? On the other hand, might Danilov be an ex-MVD officer, perhaps one who interrogated the real Captain Thompson? Is this a scheme by a crafty opportunist to ressurect a man long presumed dead and thus lay claim to back pay, military retirement and U.S. citizenship?


The Gamov Incident describes Ballantine's effort to unravel a decades-old mystery while coping with emotional conflict arising from a troubled past.