Inside the Cage / Icecore

College student ... teenage hacker ... enemy combatant?

Under suspicion for a virtual break-in at Fort Knox, 17-year-old Carl Hobbes finds himself on a rendition flight for questioning by the US military.


Taken to an isolated camp in the Arctic wilderness, dedicated to holding terrorists-for-hire, the boy finds all assurances about his safety blow away when one notorious detainee stages an uprising.


Cut off from civilisation, and with overnight temperatures plummeting, Hobbes must decide whether his chances of survival are greater inside the cage - or out


*Watch the movie promo*


UK paperback      July 2007    £10.99    (Simon & Schuster)

USA hardback      Nov 2007    $16.99     (Simon & Schuster)

USA paperback    Nov 2007    $8.99      (Simon & Schuster)

"Hacking has always appealed to inquisitive young minds. Finding a way inside places that are supposedly off limits can be a kick - in the real world as much as in cyberspace - even if the only goal is to prove that it can be done.

The downside, as UK hacker Gary McKinnon has discovered to his cost, is that if alarm bells ring the consequences can appear to far outweigh the crime.

Gary maintains that he hacked into US military and NASA systems in a (geeky) search for evidence that UFOs exist. For this, he has been charged by the USA on numerous counts including 'bringing down the entire military network of Washington". Unless the House of Lords overturns a recent court ruling, he will be extradited to the USA where he faces sixty years in prison.

I had McKinnon in mind while writing INSIDE THE CAGE. What's happening to him could happen to many, many other amateur hackers, regardless of their age or intention, and from that moment on they're on their own.

INSIDE THE CAGE is a work of fiction. Gary McKinnon's plight is fact. To show your support for Gary, visit the Free Gary website.