Rat Trap

Rat Trap is a techno-thriller novel written by Craig Thomas and published in 1976. The plot concerns a hijacking at London's Heathrow International Airport and the complications that occur trying to resolve the situation. Plot summary While on approach at London Heathrow Airport, a Boeing 707 begins experiencing engine trouble consistent with an engine fire. After a fraught landing, the plane is hijacked. The contingency plans for a hijacking are mobilized at the Home Office. Hilary Latymer is the 'Ratcatcher' who will negotiate with the terrorists and attempt to outwit them. During negotiations, the hijackers, led by a man named Packer, demand a prisoner held by the UK, one Shafiq Nasoud. Nasoud is currently being held at HM Prison Dartmoor, charged with attempting to smuggle firearms through Heathrow. It is ordered that Nasoud be brought to London in case it becomes necessary to hand him over to the terrorists. While ferrying him from Devon in a small airplane, the plane experiences engine trouble and crash lands. Nasoud manages to escape his jailers. Latymer's negotiations with the hijackers do not go well. He surmises from discussion with Packer that Packer is high on heroin. He also deduces from information provided by the American Federal Bureau of Investigation that a female hijacker, Joanne Fender, has a death wish and does not intend for the hijacking to be resolved non-violently. An attempt to take the plane ends in bloodshed.