Thirteen-year-old Quest (Q, for short) is getting a new family. His rock star mother just married another musician whose daughter, Angela, is fifteen. When they all leave on a concert tour in their luxury bus, things begin to get a little strange. Angela, whose late mother was a government agent, discovers that she is being followed. Q and Angela find themselves thrust into the middle of an investigation by an off-shoot of the Secret Service and the Israeli Mossad, who are all trying to find out whether Angela's mother was really killed in a terrorist bombing four years earlier. As the teens try to figure out who are the bad guys and who are the good guys, they have to use all of their skills to stay one step ahead and find out the truth.

This exciting read will appeal to older tweens or younger teens who enjoy a good spy caper. This one is filled with all sorts of international intrigue, double agents, and high tech gadgets. Younger readers will have trouble keeping up with the plot details and background information about the agencies and groups involved. There are guns and other weapons, and the various adult spy characters discuss previous killings. The kids are in peril, but not injured beyond a knife prick that draws blood. Adult characters are hurt (mostly black eyes and orthopedic injuries), but not killed during the story. There is a short retelling of a character's ex-husband hitting her sailboat with a bat in a jealous rage, and being hit with a restraining order as a result. The terrorists are described as Islamic, though the author does point out that they represent only a very small fraction of an otherwise peaceful population. The backdrop for the story is the present day political climate and the September 11th attacks are briefly referenced.

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