The eponymous broker in this case is disgraced and convicted Washington lobbyist Joel Backman. He is in prison, having served 6 years of a 20-year sentence (though the nature of his crime is a big vague), when he is suddenly pardoned by the outgoing President. His crime has something to do with some mysterious software that has been brought to him by 3 Pakistani hackers. The software controls an even more mysterious set of 9 spy satellites code-named “Neptune.” No one seems to know who launched these satellites or how they got into orbit without the defense and intelligence communities of the US, the UK and Russia not being aware of the launch. But there are lots of people who are upset that the satellites have been kidnapped by these hackers and, with Joel Backman’s assistance, are being peddled to the highest bidder. That high bid – in the vicinity of $1 billion – is never consummated as the 3 hackers and one of Backman’s associates are murdered before the deal goes down and Backman, in fear for his life, pleads guilty to the charges that have been leveled against him. He figures he is safer in prison than he is on the streets. And the software – on 4 hard disks – has disappeared.
Backman’s pardon was engineered by Teddy Maynard, the long-time head of the CIA, who wants him dead, thinking that the software will die with him. The CIA spirits the bewildered Backman to Italy where he desperately tries to assume the identity of a Canadian tourist. The CIA, which cannot legally assassinate him, wants him in a location where one of the other injured parties – Saudi Arabia (who was in line to pay the $1 billion ransom), Israel (who was determined to prevent Saudi Arabia from acquiring the Neptune satellites), Russia (who didn’t want any other country getting them) and China (who actually launched them and were pretty miffed that they had been stolen from them) – will be able to do the job for them. The CIA carefully controls Backman and, at the right moment – which happens to be when Maynard is fired – leaks his location to everyone. Backman has a very big target on his back.
It won’t surprise you to hear that Backman survives to the end of the book. How he does it is the interesting part of the plot. There is a minor romantic subplot. And the descriptions of the various Italian cities in which Backman lived are also interesting.
Grisham is a talented writer and I always enjoy his books. But this one doesn’t completely resolve Backman’s situation. It ends with Backman still being hunted by China. That was somewhat unsatisfying.
7 out of 10.