The year is 1969 and much of the world is in turmoil. The Vietnam War rages on in Southeast Asia and NATO is still focused on the Bear - The Soviet Union. Into this arena arrives Derek Smith, site security chief for the US Embassy in Reykjavik, Iceland. Held responsible for the failures at the US Embassy in Saigon, South Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, Smith has been transferred to Iceland as punishment.Soviet commandos break into Smiths apartment by mistake and so set the stage for a battle against time. Embroiled in this conflict are the mutinous crew of a Russian submarine, a sunken WWII U-boat loaded with gold, secret agents from countries around the globe and innocent players wrapped up in the conflict.Smith has a checkered past once a collegiate fencing champion, graduate of The State Departments Diplomatic Security Service, and scapegoat for the failings at the Embassy in Saigon, he is spiraling into a conflict seemingly out of his league. To complicate things even further, Smith falls in love with the Icelandic Minister of Roads, a woman gifted in many ways and who seems to be other than she claims. It would read like a tourist brochure except Derek Smith is narrating the tale, as if he is talking to a friend about his hair-raising experiences in a beautiful country. --myshelf.com/literary/03/crookedcrossfactor.htm Crooked Cross Factor unfolds during a very tumultuous time.  Besides a newly elected President - Richard M. Nixon, America was experiencing tremendous internal social change.  At the forefront of American woes, was the Vietnam War, which emotionally divided the country.  The election in 1968 had culminated a year of violence and demonstration.   Major News Events of 1968   Soviet forces invade Czechoslovakia, ending Prague Spring liberalization. Student riots in Paris and other European cities. Communists launch Tet offensive in Vietnam (ending in a US military victory, but a psychological defeat). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated. Robert Kennedy is assassinated.     So, in 1969, everyone expected things to get better -     Major News Events of 1969   Colonel Gaddafi becomes Libyan leader. Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on moon. First trial flights of the Concorde, the Anglo-French supersonic airliner.   Woodstock Rock Festival is held.     Crooked Cross Factor revolves around the heightened tensions between the United States of America and the Soviet Union during this time frame.  Iceland, a seemingly unimportant player in world politics, is the central location for events that might have propelled the world powers into a global conflict.    NATO and especially the United States relied on early detection of Soviet submarine movements and Iceland provided the perfect location for such an important mission.  Since WWII, when the Allies first used Iceland to watch for German U-boats, the significance of the island as a major strategic lynchpin has been proven. U-961 was depth-charged and sunk off of Iceland's coast, and its exact location is still a closely guarded secret.  Derek Hart is the prolific author of action and adventure novels, known for their historical accuracy, while still maintaining a high level of entertainment. Romance is also a vital part of Derek Hart's trademark style and his novels generally appeal to men and women alike.