The novel begins as Bourne, who, after being withdrawn from his speeches in the first book, is now employed as a professor of Oriental studies at the University of Maine. Edward McAllister; government analyst, is sent to warn Bourne of his wife, Mary, and that he is in danger after Bourne’s package is found missing. In a couple of days, Burne is hidden outside the secret shelters and when he returns home he finds his wife missing, a bloody hand print on the wall, and a handwritten note. printed with his reporter saying;
“Wife to wife, Jason Bourne. She is wounded but not dead, as mine is dead. You know where you will find me and her, if you are circumspect and lucky, perhaps we can do business, for I have enemies too
Burne knows he has to become a deadly assassin again in order to have any hope of ever seeing Mary. The kidnappers tell Burne that in order to get his wife back he must capture Jason Burne, an impostor using his reputation to earn huge amounts of money. As Bourne tries to catch the impostor, he runs into a sad man who kills one of Bourne’s only friends. Burne vows to take revenge. Through this friend’s sacrifice, Burne is able to catch the assassin. After the impostor tries to turn on his wife and the remaining government was behind the whole machine he goes to the base of operations to plan and only stops when Mary shows him and talks about it. As he is debriefed he learns that he was tricked into preventing a massive war by killing Sheng (a prominent Chinese leader), the man who killed his partner and friend. You will have the rest by yourself.
Throughout the book Bourne undergoes many changes. At the beginning of the book, Burne is a normal job person, and he is reluctant to become a lethal hitman again. As the book continues, he becomes more comfortable as a killer, while the sight of his wife brings him back to his senses.
I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. The main theme of this book is that we don’t always like it, but we have to accept it. “‘What do you do when there is a part of you that you hate?’ “Take it,” said Webb, as in The Bourne Identity, making it seem like a rushed ending.
