PARANOIA

It was only a prank: diverting cash from Wyatt Telecom's executive slush fund to throw a retirement bash for a member of the loading dock crew. But when corporate security catches up with Adam Cassidy, a low ambition junior staffer at the high-tech behemoth, they call it something else: embezzlement, to the tune of nearly $80 grand.

Ruthless CEO Nick Wyatt is impressed by Adam's scheming, and offers him one way out-take on the role of a rising corporate hotshot and infiltrate Wyatt's rival, Trion Systems. His mission is to get close to Trion's legendary founder Jock Goddard, and his ultra-secret "Project Aurora," and report back to Wyatt.

With Wyatt pulling the strings and a dramatically improved identity, Adam is set up as Trion's new boy genius. Suddenly, he's got a sweet new Porsche, a closet full of $1,500 suits, and even a lovely lady who thinks he's a dream. But it's all just a mirage, because Adam is about to learn that nothing is what it seems and that it isn't paranoia...everyone is out to get him...

Joseph Finder's novels, The Moscow Club, Extraordinary Powers and The Zero Hour were widely acclaimed for their powerful writing and their detailed, insider knowledge of geopolitics. In 2002, Finder's novel, High Crimes, became a major motion picture starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman, and Paramount Pictures recently bought the film rights to Paranoia. Finder also writes extensively on international affairs for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New Republic. He lives in Boston with his wife and daughter.