The Russian Code

A young spy is torn between the world of espionage and the world of science as he prepares for a mission to Russia, then he finds himself and his science an intelligence target. Meet Jim Washburn, a young CIA agent who is preparing to go to Russia. While in the States, Jim works as an undercover narcotics agent and a computer programmer, keeping his double life a secret from his family and friends who know him first as only a student and later only as a computer programmer. His mission to Russia is in jeopardy when he invents a cryptographic algorithm that the powerful National Security Agency is determined to keep secret. Jim wonders if the NSA's threats are more dangerous than drug dealers with a penchant for arson. The story is set in 1991-93 when the NSA tried to ban civilian cryptography. The Obama administration is also proposing to ban cryptography. The Russian Code is a complete 75K-word cipherpunk novel about secrets and what people will do to keep them.