''Scoundrel'' is a

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

book written by English author Bernard Cornwell. The story of the book is set in Europe, in 1990, just after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. It features Paul (Paulie) Shanahan, a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

ian, who had moved to Europe in his role a member of the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reun ...

(PIRA). In his recent past, a woman, Roisin, had been caught by the Libyans, and found out as a

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

(CIA) operative. Under the torture, and shortly before her execution, she had claimed Paul Shanhaan was also a sleeper member of the CIA. As such, all his terrorist contacts had shunned him, expecting him to return to the United States, as his cover was blown. As the story begins, he has been in the cold for three years, when he is contacted by an old Libyan contact, with a job for him. The job, on the face of it, is to sail a boat carrying five million dollars of Libyan gold, to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, to allow the PIRA to give it as payment to the Cubans, in exchange for fifty-two

Stinger missiles The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters as the Air-to-Ai ...

. However, as the project pans out, Shannan becomes suspicious that the project is not what it seems.

Publishing information

* December 2004: Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages HarperTorch; First THUS edition (English) British thriller novels British historical novels 2004 British novels {{2000s-thriller-novel-stub