Brief

After discovering that a global payments fraud is being used to fund international terrorism, the founder of a tech company vows to put a stop to it. But as the plot thickens, he discovers that the threat is personal and must dig deep into his past to discover who is after him... and why.

What We Liked

FAULT LINE is high-stakes and high-tension from start to finish. In the vein of authors like Vince Flynn, it combines international terrorism and technology in a twisty, complex tale and presents one, flawed protagonist as the sole character able to save the day. With an abundance of resources and friends in high places, the story's protagonist is able to outsmart the terrorists and save not only the world, but his own family as well.

Film: FAULT LINE is high-tension and high-stakes. It is jam-packed with action and introduces a diverse cast of characters, all with their own motivations and goals. The tale is weaved nicely to incorporate multiple layers, and its finite starting and end points makes it feel like it would fit the feature format well.

TV: Because of its definitive starting and end points, it's likely that FAULT LINE would be much better suited for film. That said, it could potentially work well as a miniseries, too. There is enough action and suspense to sustain an audience through multiple episodes, leading up to a dramatic conclusion and a cast of characters forever changed.

Key points:
Action-packed.
Socially relevant.
International appeal.
Diverse cast.
Suspenseful.

Synopsis

IDRIS MORGAN notices international credit card fraud from his company, CYBERX’S, Prague office. He tells his top analyst, ABDUL SHAHID, to shut it down. Two weeks later, forensics investigate a victim with a nearly severed head. DETECTIVE CHIEF INSPECTOR BECKWITH decides to question the victim’s boss. The next day, tech guru PHILIP DUNSTAN believes he is being followed by the police.

Dunstan is approached by the police and taken to New Scotland Yard. There, Beckwith and REBECCA LOVAT inform Dunstan that millions of dollars have been laundered through his company, and that these funds may support terrorist organizations. They ask him to trace the laundering. Lovat reveals that his business partner, Indris Morgan, has been executed.

Dunstan instructs his executive assistant, KATE CROSS, to call the head of security and make sure that all is safe. Dunstan instructs his finance director, MARC TYSOE, to draft a letter to the Stock Exchange, informing them of Morgan’s death. Dunstan secretly sends Marc to Bermuda to start a forensic trace and to create a clone from the backup servers and terminate the global hub in London.

As Dunstan is leaving the office, Abdul Shadid approaches. He asks to speak in private and tells Dunstan about the fraud that he and Morgan discovered. Dunstan deduces that they’ve been working with a crooked third-party vendor, and Shadid reveals that it’s Dunstan who signed them up, in the early days of the company, without verification.

Dunstan visits Morgan’s widow, GWENYTH, and asks her not to tell the police that he was supposed to be out running with his partner. Just outside of his house, Dunstan pulls out a burner phone and calls THE MONK. He speaks in code and tells The Monk to prepare to meet him within forty-eight hours. At home, he and his wife, FAITH, discuss Morgan’s murder. Dunstan convinces her to pull the children from school and hide out at her sister, ELLIE’S, hunting estate.

Dunstan calls HENRY STANTON, his non-executive Chairman on his way into the board meeting. There, he informs the board that Stanton will take over as CEO and board member GEORGE JACKSON will step in as COO. Dunstan will temporarily step down to seek out Morgan’s killer. Kate appears to inform Dunstan that the police are waiting for him with an arrest warrant. Before leaving with the police, Dunstan instructs Kate to contact REDMOND on a burner phone.

Beckwith takes Dunstan to the station for questioning, but Dunstan doesn’t give up any valuable information. Meanwhile, CELIA FANSHAWE of M15 learns that the money laundering was stopped several weeks before Morgan’s death. Rebecca Lovat argues that they need someone on the ground inside CyberX. The account in question is a Pakistani account. Fanshawe asks that Dunstan be brought in for questioning. Beckwith arranges the transfer. In the car to London, Dunstan reveals that he needs to use the restroom. After convincing the officers that he has diarrhea, the car pulls over. CyberX’s head of security, VERNON HAMILL, is waiting on a motorcycle. He assaults the police and he and Dunstan take off.
Dunstan packs all his rock-climbing survival gear, including the set of knives like the one that killed Morgan. He hops into his Range Rover, ready to fight. Duncan calls Redmond from one of his burner phones, and we discover that Redmond is an M15 agent. Redmond meets with Fanshawe, who decides that it’s best to have Dunstan on their side.

Dunstan pulls into a car park and is approached by THE MONK. The Monk agrees to help Dunstan, and Dunstan reveals his plan to link up with some friends who can help. Dunstan is followed by a Land Rover and he and The Monk discover that his car has been bugged. They leave the bug in place and retreat into The Monk’s private, armed country house. They prepare to leave, either by car or by foot, at a moment’s notice. The Monk takes Dunstan into his cellar, full of artillery, and they begin packing weapons.

Two missiles hit The Monk’s house, and chaos ensues. They rush to the Range Rover with their weapons and begin firing back at their assailants. They target and kill the assailants and drive off.

Celia Fanshawe meets with MAJOR GENERAL CHRISTOPHER GIBBS and asks to borrow two of his female soldiers of Indian descent, for overseas surveillance. Gibbs agrees. The newspapers report an army ammunition depot has been robbed.

Dunstan uses one of his burner phones to call DREADNOUGHT, an old army buddy who owes him a favor. Dreadnought agrees to help, and Dunstan leads The Monk back out into the world. Unbeknownst to them, two men in a Land Rover watch them. Meanwhile, in Bermuda, Mike Tysoe works through the night to switch over the CyberX system.

Fanshawe and the others track down Dreadnought and assume that his recently chartered plane is on its way to pick up Dunstan and The Monk. Assailants burn down Dunstan’s family home. The UK Counter Terrorism organization demands that Dunstan only be followed, and not intercepted. His Range Rover is located, and Dunstan and The Monk are spotted via a helicopter camera. Dunstan responds to one of Redmond’s calls, and he asks for Dunstan’s cooperation and support. He reveals that Dunston’s house has been destroyed, his family is in danger and Kate has been kidnapped. Dunstan agrees to assist Redmond, in exchange for his resources to find Kate and protect his family.

Fanshawe briefs to two female soldiers and instructs them to follow the pay trail in Pakistan to find the end point for the money. Meanwhile, Dreadnought’s helicopter travels to the designated site. Redmond ditches his team, except for Rebecca Lovat. Dunstan and The Monk arrive at the airfield, followed by Redmond and Lovat. Dreadnought’s plane sends down a ramp that allows Dunstan to drive his Range Rover into the bay of the plane. Redmond and Lovat follow. The impact of the crash kills Redmond, but Rebecca Lovat survives. Dunstan, The Monk and Lovat arrive in Al-Qurum, and are greeted by the hostile ADBUL THABET, Dreadnought’s loyal servant. Thabet demands that Dunstan greet Dreadnought alone, in very formal circumstances. He is shocked and appalled when Dreadnought throws away formality and wraps his old friend into a bear hug.

Kate awakens in a barn and discovers that her captors are two Nepalese guerrillas. Brothers, one of them establishes a radio signal and reveals that if Dunstan is not dead within three days, Kate will die in his place. Meanwhile, the female intelligence soldiers arrive in Pakistan, disguised as administrative assistants.

Thabet informs Dunstan that Al-Qurum will provide them an entire floor of the bank to do their investigation, but under strict circumstances to prevent political unrest with Pakistan. Upon meeting The Monk, Dreadnought invites him to help review the protocols of Al-Qurum’s armed forces the following day.

Marc Tysoe arrives in Al-Qurum and meets Dunstan and Lovat. He informs them that he switched the Bermuda server on, in hopes that the fraudulent activity would resume. Soon enough, it does, and he and Lovat use black market sites to try to track down the name of the fraudster. The female intelligence officials track a Toyota to a gate. They create a fuss to place tracking devices on both the car, and a fair-haired GUARD.

Lovat traces the account to ANIL GHOL, but Dunstan denies knowing him. Dunstan learns that Kate has been murdered, with ‘2001’ carved into her chest. Lovat urges him to tell her the truth about Anil Ghol, and Dunstan reveals that on his last military coupe, he captured two Afghanis and one Pakistan named Ghol. He reckons that Ghol’s family is out for revenge.

Anil Ghol has a gathering and reveals that his goal is to break up Pakistan into different tribes. The intelligence officers, DHAR and MURRIA, listen from outside. Dreadnought agrees to work with the Pakistani president to provide resources for Dunstan. He arranges diplomatic travel for Dunstan.

Fanshawe discovers that there are nuclear capabilities in the terrorists’ hands, and that the main threat is likely in London. They realize that they need Dunstan to save the day. Fanshawe and Gibbs receive word on Ghol’s travels.

Dunstan and The Monk arrive in Pakistan, with Dunstan’s old friend, CAPTAIN HUGO LAYLOCK. Together with black ops volunteers, they meet with Dhar and Murria and discover Ghol’s last known location. Ghol turns on his mobile phone and Murria picks up the tracker to discover that he must be airborne, heading into Indian Kashmir to try to establish a new homeland using land from both Pakistan and India, and aided by nuclear weapons.

DIGGER COLE, a friend of Dunstan’s, operates a chopper looking for the assailant’s Land Rover. He spots it, and alerts Beckwith’s team and Gibbs. Meanwhile, Dunstan delivers his mission: seek out and destroy the threat before it causes pan-regional unrest. Meanwhile, Fanshawe’s boss calls to tell her that the protection for Dunstan’s family is going to be thinned out. He suggests using them as bait, to detain and arrest Ghol. Rebecca Lovat finds and reports evidence of weapons grade plutonium going missing in Pakistan. Fanshawe, Gibbs and Beckwith begin working together to capture KHAN, the Pakistani in London who helped facilitate the fraudulent transactions.

Dunstan, The Monk and their team arrive at Ghol’s fortress. Dunstan and Laylock discover that the only way to survey it is it rock-climb the walls. The Monk releases his ops teams to enter the fortress and capture Ghol. Dunstan and his crew find Ghol. Dunstan demands that he end the blood feud and call off the hit on his family, but Ghol maintains that he cannot. The Monk places a call to Lovat, who puts Ghol through to Khan. Fearing for his friend, Ghol tells Khan to call off the hit on Dunstan’s family. All appears well, until Dunstan learns that Ghol has set up a series of nuclear warfare to set up an independent state. Dunstan vows to make him fail. Dunstan demands that Ghol transfer the fraudulent money back to CyberX, and Ghol does so. Dunstan and his team move on to trying to dismantle the nuclear bombs, but Dhar insists on staying behind to ensure that Ghol stays true to his word.

The crew gets to the site of the bomb, and Dunstan repels down towards the nuclear bomb site. He and his crew work to disarm it. They make it back to their planes and return to Al-Qurum. Dreadnought arranges for Dunstan to return to his family. Back in the UK, The Monk reveals that Lovat and her team have no idea where the hit team is. He produces a car full of ammo, and they rush to save Dunstan’s family. Chaos ensues at the safe house until Dunstan and The Monk use their expert military skills to kill the assailants. Dunstan reunites with his family, finally telling Faith the truth. Celia Fanshawe arrives to discuss the fall-out of Dunstan’s mission, and we learn that she knows The Monk from long ago.

Fanshawe is afraid of a potential media fallout for her organization and promises to wipe any of Dunstan’s crime off the record. The Monk, she maintains, will have to disappear, and never return to the UK. And CyberX has been taken off the Stock Exchange. Just before The Monk boards a plane back to Al-Qurum, Fanshawe kisses him. Meanwhile, Dhar falls in love with Ghol. She joins his team as a personal advisor. Rebecca Lovat rises to the top of her industry. Dunstan uses the funds that Ghol deposited to start a better, smarter business. Months later, Dunstan is arrested on several charges and brought in for questioning. Lovat and Fanshawe appear and offer him a deal: create a black-market site to attract terrorists, and the charges disappear. Dunstan ultimately agrees, and soon after gets his first customer.

About The Author

Ex-Army officer, climber, mountaineer, financial and data security consultant, Duncan's writings draws on his personal and professional life, supplemented by extensive research. He has worked and operated in over forty countries, spending much time in Middle East, The Gulf, South East Asia and India sub-continent. He has climbed in the Himalaya, Canadian Rockies, Alaska, and Tibet and is currently Chair of the Mount Everest Foundation. He takes a keen interest in geo-political and other "fault lines" around the world.