Operation Moolah

September 1953. The guns of the Korean War have fallen silent under an uneasy armistice-but one of its most dangerous missions has yet to begin.

North Korean fighter pilot No Kum-sok has learned that survival depends upon obedience. He must salute, repeat the approved truths, and conceal every forbidden thought. But behind the canopy of his MiG-15-the mysterious Soviet jet that has terrorized American pilots over MiG Alley-No carries a secret that could condemn him and everyone he loves: he intends to escape.

Across the border, American intelligence officers launch Operation Moolah, an audacious psychological-warfare campaign promising asylum and a $100,000 reward to any Communist pilot who delivers an operational MiG-15. Leaflets fall. Radio broadcasts cross enemy airspace. No pilot responds.

What the Americans do not know is that the man they are waiting for is already preparing to come. What No does not know is that Operation Moolah exists.

On September 21, 1953, No turns his aircraft south.

Based on the extraordinary true story of one of the Cold War's most consequential defections, Operation Moolah is a sweeping historical thriller about a young man trapped between loyalty and conscience, the intelligence officers determined to capture the most coveted aircraft in the Communist arsenal, and the pilots who faced its guns in the skies above Korea. As their separate paths converge upon a single runway, No must risk his life, abandon the world he knows, and confront the terrible price of choosing freedom.