It's not hard to believe that governments throughout history have been hell-bent on controlling all facets our lives. The central plot of a new novel called ‘The Treaty’ claims both the USA and Britain are controlling the sale and production of narcotics on a global basis.

This new adventure thriller based on Britain’s drug dealing history may open a debate on the degree of control and influence governments and individuals have over markets for illegal drugs. The author reveals a secret narcotic treaty designed to control the sale and distribution of drugs globally. David J Grant builds his story based on research conducted by the United Nations and the illegal drugs industry, said to be worth more than $300 billion dollars a year at retail level and with 93% of all opiates now coming from Afghanistan. Grant’s believable treaty supports a plot designed to control global markets for worldwide narcotics and production.

When he decided to write a novel two years ago Grant didn’t know that western governments were so close to controlling these huge quantities of opium with the use of their armies. The Treaty, unveils an agreement between Britain and America with senior establishment figures at the head and who control production and supply of illegal drugs coming into their countries.

He based his book on the historic fact that Britain was a leading supplier of opium for 150 years until the beginning of the twentieth century. The story is often disturbing involving both murder and tragedy and implicates well-known members of the British Royal family together with and two ex-Presidents from the USA.

The reader gains a new insight into the personality and early life of Prince Philip before he married The Queen. Grant sets out the case as to why such a high profile man would become involved in this political dynamite. We discover he had a disturbing and lonely childhood probably leading to someone with a complex personality and insecure in his early years. We find it possible to empathize with Philip and can comprehend how he could become involved in conspiracy such as The Treaty. Other characters in this book are based on American Presidents Nixon and George Bush Senior.

After a dramatic introduction in the first chapter we arrive at a house close to Princess Diana’s childhood home at Althorp in Northamptonshire. The house is on the edge of the Spencer family estate. This is where publisher Dominic Marsh lived with his wife and son together with a young Argentinean au pair called Maria Farnese. Marsh's debut in the story is short-lived however; his name and family live on with the eventual arrival of Andrew Davies, making an unscheduled stopover. Andy (as he is called throughout the book) is a thirty something telecoms specialist who, while travelling home unexpectedly meets with Maria during a violent thunderstorm. Davies, suffers a minor injury to his foot, caused by Maria (don't ask it's quite silly) and agrees to an overnight offer. This coincides with the weekend her boss and his spouse are staying away. During his stay - in Maria's bed as it turns out – Andy has to get up in the night and attend to some urgent work. Involving the use of a computer which belongs to Dominic Marsh, Andy is an expert in telecommunications. While electronically trawling through circuits he is made aware of some problem with the phone network to this house. Basically it’s bugged, and from his investigation he discovers, stored on a remote computer server attached via the internet a copy of an unusual document - The Treaty.

The important word here is "copy" as in duplicate since this is where the story really begins. Intrigued by his find he downloads the documents to a memory device kept attached to his key ring. Only later does he begin to realize that this is not just a few old papers of historic interest but a secret treaty that is still in operation.

Events move fast and over the course of a few days Andy travel to Europe and then the Far East. This is when the tragedy begins reaching a low point in Andy’s life. More convinced than ever he needs to prove these documents are for real, he can only do this by finding a signed authentic copy which he is sure exists. This will prove that the documents are still in use today, and reveal who is really behind the treaty. Unfortunately he is not alone in this search and there are others, powerful people who need to keep this secret well hidden. While Andy’s search continues he is unaware how high up the establishment ladder in both the USA and Britain; he will have to go to find the real decision makers.

Dark forces begin to show and gradually, life becomes untenable and almost at an end for our hero. Never knowing who he can trust it is a relief meeting one woman in particular, Caroline Lovelace-Jones, British MI-21, and Madrid Bureau Chief. Caroline is a great character and will be popular with all women over 40. Feisty, attractive and as fit as butcher's dog, one minute this middleclass lady is counselling Andy and the next she is screaming blue murder at the bad guys waving a hand gun in their face.

David J Grant has written a demanding novel, both exciting and fast paced. It is totally believable and smudges the line between fact and fiction, probably confirming what many readers already think they know is true. His characters and plot are original and by the end, you feel very close to both Andy as a person and some of the people in his life. The locations and scenery are equally unusual especially in Asia and may stimulate readers to go off in search of these out of the way places. The involvement of Princess Diana connected to her ex-father-in-law and the appearance of Camilla wife of Prince Charles, all add to the reality making this an exciting and very interesting book to read.
Notes to the Editor: The Treaty is published by Samosir Books
Publication Date:11th Oct 2007, ISBN: 9780954884222 PB 356 pages; £7.99 $15.99
It is available through all bookshops and internet booksellers. If you would like further information or review copies of their titles, please contact: Stuart Hill: 0845 652 0351, stuart.hill@samosirbooks.com

MATURE...SENSITIVE...DISTURBING
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