About the Author

Frank Deft enlisted in the USAAF late in World War II and was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. He applied for pilot training and after graduating in 1953 was assigned to a USAF NATO fighter squadron in West Germany where he served as a line pilot for three years, the period during which the novel takes place. Thereafter Deft resumed reserve duty. In 1968 he volunteered for a short in-country combat tour in Vietnam. The following year he returned to West Germany on an Active Duty tour. Eight years later, he retired with the rank of Colonel. During 33 years of United States Air Force Reserve and Active duty, Frank Deft spent 18 years flying single-engine fighters, during which seven years were spent in the cockpit of the delta-winged Convair F-102A, the principal aircraft in Primordial Vault. Born in the small steel town of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, Frank Deft hastily departed at the early age of sixteen, attaining short-range goals while seeking a career path. Deft has written eleven novels and achieved award status in three national fiction competitions. He studied Art and Law at UCLA, is a member of the State Bar of California, Mensa and three military organizations. Frank Deft presently resides in the forested mountains of western North Carolina, writes every day and leads a rather Spartan life.