''Dragonfire'' is a spy

thriller novel Thriller is a genre of fiction, having numerous, often overlapping subgenres. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. Su ...

by author Andrew Kaplan, published by

Warner Books Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hachett ...

in hardcover and softcover editions. It was an international best-seller and a Main Selection of the

Book of the Month Club Book of the Month (founded 1926) is a United States subscription-based e-commerce service that offers a selection of five to seven new hardcover books each month to its members. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, and members c ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Plot summary

The novel follows

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

agent Sawyer as he embarks on a dangerous mission to prevent a

Southeast Asian Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

war. The mission takes him to the waterfront of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

, where he is tasked with rescuing fellow agent Parker, who was previously captured. Along the way, Sawyer teams up with Suong, a beautiful and fierce

Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

, and Toonsang, an

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

trader with questionable allegiances. Together, they embark on a journey to find Parker which leads them to the forbidden hill country of the

Golden Triangle Golden Triangle may refer to: Places Asia * Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production * Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development * Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...

. In the Golden Triangle, they come face to face with Bhun Sa, the most powerful

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

in the opium trade. Sawyer takes him out, and he and Suong escape to abandoned temple ruins in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

. To prove her loyalty, Suong tells Sawyer about her experience surviving the

Killing Fields The Killing Fields ( km, វាលពិឃាត, ) are a number of sites in Cambodia where collectively more than one million people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime (the Communist Party of Kampuchea) during its rule of t ...

under the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...

regime. However, things take a dark turn when Sawyer is captured by the Khmer Rouge, and Suong's true identity as a war criminal is revealed. She is the sister of Pranh, the notorious Brother Number Two of the Killing Fields.

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

forces ultimately attack the Khmer Rouge, which leads to Sawyer's freedom. He takes Suong captive, and after a final showdown with Vasnasong, the billionaire businessman behind the plot, Sawyer turns Suong over to the Cambodian resistance. In an epilogue, the story reveals Suong's brutal death at the hands of her former victims while aboard a ship.

Release details

* July 1987, Warner Books, hardcover, * April 1988, Warner Books, paperback, * 1988, Arrow Books, paperback, * 1987, Century Hutchinson, hardcover, * 1990, Goldmann Verlag, paperback, * 1988, Bell (Greek), paperback

References

* Dragonfire, Warner Hardcover (https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0446513776/ref=sr_1_olp_3/105-3701850-1064460?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187998715&sr=8-3). Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2007-8-24. * Dragonfire, Warner Paperback (https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000P0KE2E/ref=sr_1_olp_2/105-3701850-1064460?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187998715&sr=8-2). Retrieved on 2007-8-24. 1987 American novels American spy novels American thriller novels Novels set in Thailand Warner Books books {{1980s-spy-novel-stub