It is very early in Jack Ryan's career-so early that he has not yet even become an analyst for the CIA. But a series of nasty encounters with an IRA splinter group has brought Ryan to the attention of the CIA's Deputy Director and his British counterpart. They offer him his first job as a freelance analyst, and he readily accepts. Debriefing a high-level Russian defector, however, he comes across an unbelievable plot: top Soviet officials, including Yuri Andropov, are planning to assassinate Pop