In 1991 Terminator 2: Judgment Day was the movie of the year. For 10 years fans have waited for a follow-up to this wildly popular science fiction storyline-a violent collision between present and future. In the first officially authorized T2 novel, S. M. Stirling picks up the story of John and Sarah Connor, who have been hiding in Paraguay and now must confront a new, more terrifying Terminator unit resurrected from the ashes of Cyberdyne-a unit that can actually pass as human.

Plunged into a fight for their lives and for the future in which John plays a savior's role, mother and son have one powerful advantage. They have come face-to-face with a former counterterrorist warrior named Dieter von Rossbach, the man who was the very model for Cyberdyne's original "Arnold" Terminator. This time, he's on their side.