AT THIS MOMENT
SUMMARY
Jack Kramer is one of those media figures who always seems to be around. He is not a central broadcast personality like Walter Cronkite or Dan Rather, but rather a respected investigative journalist, who worked first in print at the Village Voice and New York Magazine (winning a Pulitzer in 1993), and then transitioning into network news correspondent and pundit at the (fictional) World News Network.
But – as well-known and out-in-the-open as he is – Jack is hiding a secret, a very serious secret, having to do with his own activities as a student radical in his youth. Jack has written a book about the radical Left early in his career as a journalist (1978), and he has floated the narrative that he was simply “faking” an enthusiasm in order to become “embedded” with the SDS, to investigate what was happening from the inside. But the truth is far different. And it involves the loss of his first love, Abby Crane, when a bomb exploded in a Weatherman safe house, killing Abby and three other members. Jack was nearby when this happened, and he tried in vain to save Abby and the others, almost dying himself.
All of this comes to the surface for Jack when he becomes the point man in dealing with SADON, a little-known eco-terrorist group who have emerged as an active threat after blowing up a New Jersey auto mall full of gas-guzzling SUVs. Jack is the only media person they will talk to, and then it moves even closer to home when they explode two bombs near events that Jack is involved in. Other media outlets want to know “Why Jack? Why are they so focused on him?” Jack would like to know why as well, especially when he finds out that SADON has been using the same kind of explosive devices favored by the Weatherman cell.
Jack has a grown son (Otter, 27) and daughter (Alicia, 30, divorced with a young son) with his ex-wife Lisa (62). His son Otter meets with Jack to let him know that the family is worried for his safety and wants Jack to leave town for a hiatus. Also, during the turmoil of his interactions with SADON, Jack becomes romantically-linked to his WNN colleague Carmen DeRosa (42), whose interest may be more professional than personal. She digs into Jack’s background and finds evidence of his radical past. This past comes to mind-blowing life when Abby Crane turns up at Jack’s apartment, claiming to want to help him find out what is going with SADON, and why they are echoing so much about their Weatherman cell. But is this really Abby? She is officially deceased (even though no remains were discovered), and Jack felt certain that he heard her dying screams. But this woman is the same age that Abby would be, and she knows intimate details about their past. How could it be anyone besides the real Abby?
A message has been found inside both explosive devices that SADON has used, and the police consult Jack to see if he has any ideas about what it means. Abby figures out for Jack what the message means, and Jack relays this to the authorities – which only makes Jack himself a subject for suspicion. For his part, Jack believes that the bomber is Ray Raskin, the only other surviving member of their Weatherman cell. Jack goes to visit Ray, 74, in his Unabomber-like cabin in upstate New York, bringing Otter along with him. This experience only confirms for Jack that Ray is guilty, and he convinces the network to film a surprise confrontation with Ray. This is spoiled when someone calls in the police at a crucial moment, but it succeeds in turning Ray against Jack, as well as alienating Otter, who has bonded with Ray.
But Jack’s secret alliance with Abby takes a shocking turn, at first elevating him to hero status, then causing him to be fired in disgrace. Everything Jack has worked so hard for so many years goes down the drain, and he becomes the prime suspect in SADON’s path of destruction.
Jack is so devastated that he can’t get out of bed. His son comes to his aid, along with an unexpected ally. Jack picks up a clue about where to search for the truth, and he pursues this, knowing that he’s the only one now who can save himself from being falsely charged with these crimes. In the process, Jack uncovers a conspiracy that shows how much more is at stake than just his own future.