THE SOURCE is an espionage thriller involving the career of a CIA case officer (Matt Edwards) in Pakistan who has a mysterious Al Qaeda asset providing selective operational details for generous remuneration. By 2000, the CIA realized that penetration of Al Qaeda's inner circle in Pakistan was practically impossible given the highly compartmentalized and paranoid nature of its leadership. Then, on an early March evening, a man in Pashtun attire on a motorcycle tossed a large manila envelope to Edwards as he strolled from his bungalow to the American Club next door on Circular Road in Peshawar's University Town. Matt Edwards was the CIA's Section Chief, 'officially' the Vice Consul at the U.S. Consulate. The envelope contained photos and documents which included details on an Al Qaeda sleeper cell in Brooklyn, along with the cell's operational plans to execute an attack on New York City's subway system. This got his attention, but the accompanying instructions were unorthodox in his line of work: 'the asset' who provided this intelligence bonanza was essentially recruiting Edwards as his 'control officer.' This anonymous source -soon to earn the code name COWBOY--would turn out to be a trove of information but it proved to be selective as the CIA learned the hard way. Subsequent disclosures, after generous compensation, averted destruction of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad by a hijacked Pakistani Army helicopter but failed to give warning about other American targets. Al Qaeda's leadership suspected there was a traitor in their midst who must be silenced. Future operations against the Great Satan, especially 'the Manhattan Raid,' must not be compromised. THE SOURCE reveals how treachery and greed are workplace hazards in the spy business; trust has to be earned and even then is fleeting. Yet despite the betrayal and the killing, there is honor, sacrifice and love.