9/11. The events of the day ripped away any sense of security, replacing it with fear and rage. Take thirteen-year-old Bret Johnson; his parents snatched away, his life forever changed. Bret vowed to avenge his parents’ death. He was only thirteen.

Over the next two decades, Bret graduates from Stanford with degrees in computer science and criminology. Climbs the professional tennis ranking and meets the love of his life, Suzanne. Just days away from competing in the Wimbledon finals, Bret and Suzanne return to their hotel after a night out, and hell breaks out. They walk in on a robbery. Bret protects Suzanne and gets shot in the arm. The thieves scramble, taking Suzanne hostage.

His parents’ death, all the anxiety and fear years, Suzanne’s abduction-it crystallizes an idea for Bret and answers his earlier question: What could he do? He decides to act. “A World Without Fear,” tells a gripping, tense and romantic novel, while providing a clear path to eradicating future terrorist acts.