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Jack
Ryan and his wife and daughter are in London on a vacation. Ryan is
a professor of history at the US Naval Academy at Annapolis and a
former Marine officer and Wall Street stockbroker. He is taking advantage
of the London vacation to research British signals from WW II for
a book he is writing. He meets his wife Cathy, an opthamological surgeon
at Johns Hopkins University's Wilmer Eye Institute, and his daughter
Sally at St. James Park. While they are discussing where to go for
dinner that evening there is an explosion behind them. Getting his
family under cover, Ryan moves around to get a better view. Three
men are attacking a Rolls Royce right in front of him. Realizing he
is in a perfect position to interfere with the plans of the terrorists,
for that's what they must be, Ryan charges in and stops the attack,
killing one man and wounding another. Dr. John Patrick Ryan, history
teacher and former US Marine officer has ruined an operation of the
Ulster Liberation Army (ULA), an ultra-violent offshoot of the violent
Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army (PIRA). The British
are grateful for Ryan's intervention as the occupants of the car were
members of the Royal Family. The ULA, headed by Kevin O'Donnell, is
upset with Jack's interference. Sean Miller, the man who planned the "perfect" operation
and was wounded and captured, is furious at Ryan's meddling. The PIRA
is angry with O'Donnell for attacking the Royal Family. Admiral James
Greer, of the Central Intelligence Agency, sees this as a perfect
opportunity to recruit Jack into the Agency. Under the guise of patriotism,
various organizations use the incident to forward their own agendas.
In an effort to protect his family from the wrath of the terrorists,
Ryan is drawn further and further into a web of international terrorism,
intelligence and covert operations. But he is plagued by the question
of whether what he is doing is right or wrong. Is he defending his
family and serving his country, or is he, too, starting to play Patriot
Games?
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