Michael Antonowicz has imagined a story ripped from the headlines of the war in
Ukraine. Operation Sunflower follows Marine Gunny Sergeant Jerry "Graze"
Grazinski into the mountains of Afghanistan and the deadly battle with Isis that ended
his military career and nearly his life as well. After months of surgeries and grueling
rehab in Ramstein, Germany, Jerry returns to his childhood home in the Finger Lakes
of New York state, retiring on beautiful Keuka Lake. His injuries heal, but Graze is
tormented by the loss of his dear Afghani friend, Tariq. His Hazara translator and
companion had not been heard from since the fall of Kabul.
A month after Russia invades Ukraine, a late night call from Jerry's former
commander summons him to a secret base near Warsaw, Poland. The Ukrainian c
counter-offensive, code named Operation Sunflower, would soon launch, and Jerry
would command a secret weapon - The Dagger- on a daring mission behind Russian
lines.
