Bobby Okari, the captivating leader of a freedom movement in the explosive and oil-rich West African nation of Luandia, has no qualms about speaking out against PetroGlobal Luanda, an American oil conglomerate who, according to Okari, fouls his people’s land, poisons their water and ravages their daughters. PGL and Luandia’s corrupt and callous dictator, Savior Karama, seek to quiet Okari’s voice and repress his cause. Greed is their motivation and as the Delta becomes an economic disaster, black gold fills their bank accounts.
When three PGL workers are lynched during a peaceful demonstration, Luandia’s government conveniently points the finger in Okari’s direction. During a solar eclipse, military troops, led by the sadistic Colonel Okimbo and PGL henchman Roos Van Daan descend upon Okari’s village of Goro and brutally massacre its inhabitants while arresting Okari for the lynching.
Marissa, Okari’s wife, sends an urgent email to her old college friend in the States, Damon Pierce. Pierce, a lawyer who specializes in complex international litigation, heeds the call of the woman he once had feelings for and agrees to represent Okari on the trumped-up charges. However, Pierce doesn’t immediately realize the severity of the case. Karama has hand-picked his own tribunal to try Okari for the crime. As witnesses disappear and palms get greased, Pierce finds himself caught in an explosive political battle where oil runs thicker than blood and everyone has their hands in the till. During a dramatic legal battle, Pierce scrambles to keep Okari from the gallows while fighting for his own life and that of his lost love.
Eclipse is a complex legal and political thriller by bestselling author Richard North Patterson. Although the intricate web of deceit, politics and legalities is sometimes difficult to follow, the basic story of human injustice is not. Put on your thinking cap and go along for an eye-opening look at man’s destructive lust for oil.