Digital Fortress

Before the multi-million, runaway bestseller The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown set his razor-sharp research and storytelling skills on the most powerful intelligence organization on earth--the National Security Agency (NSA), an ultra-secret, multibillion-dollar agency many times more powerful than the CIA.

When the NSA's invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant and beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage...not by guns or bombs, but by a code so ingeniously complex that if released it would cripple U.S. intelligence.

Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, Susan Fletcher battles to save the agency she believes in. Betrayed on all sides, she finds herself fighting not only for her country but for her life, and in the end, for the life of the man she loves.

From the underground hallways of power to the skyscrapers of Tokyo to the towering cathedrals of Spain, a desperate race unfolds. It is a battle for survival--a crucial bid to destroy a creation of inconceivable genius...an impregnable code-writing formula that threatens to obliterate the post-cold war balance of power. Forever.

A thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Da Vinci Code.

A thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Da Vinci Code.

From the bestselling author of The Da Vinci Code comes the gripping story of the ultimate code. It's powerful, dangerous--and unbreakable . . .

When the NSA's invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant and beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage . . . not by guns or bombs, but by a code so ingeniously complex that if released would cripple U.S. intelligence. Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, Fletcher battles to save the agency she believes in. Betrayed on all sides, she finds herself fighting not only for her country but for her life, and in the end, for the life of the man she loves.

"A new master of smart thrills."--People

"Digital Fortress is the best and most realistic techno-thriller to reach the market it years . . . A chilling thrill a minute."--The Midwest Book Review

Read by Bruce Sabath

Praise for Dan Brown and Digital Fortress:

"A new master of smart thrills."

- People

"Digital Fortress is the best and most realistic techno-thriller to reach the market in years. Dan Brown's ability to paint in living color the gray area between personal freedom vs. national security...is awesome...Readers will feel a chilling thrill a minute."

- The Midwest Book Review

"Dan Brown has to be one of the best, smartest, and most accomplished writers in the country."

- bestselling author Nelson DeMille

"More intelligence secrets than Tom Clancy...Digital Fortress is closer to the truth than any of us dare imagine."

- MacDonnell Ulsch, managing director of the National Security Institute

"Dan Brown writes a rocket-fast thriller with enough twists and surprises to keep even the most seasoned readers guessing."

- bestselling author Vince Flynn

"Exciting...will rivet cyber-minded readers."

- Booklist

"In this fast-paced, plausible tale, Brown blurs the line between good and evil enough to delight patriots and paranoids alike."

- Publishers Weekly

Dan Brown is a graduate of, and has taught English at, Phillips Exeter Academy. Digital Fortress was inspired by the sudden presence of FBI agents on the Exeter campus because of a reported national security threat — two students had sent an e-mail back and forth saying that Bill Clinton was a liar and should be shot.