Lion Hunter is a historical novel that opens in Europe in 1941, during World War II, with the introduction of a German secret agent, Hans Farber, following a successful mission in Leningrad, Russia. His superior and head of the Abwehr, Admiral Canaris, charges Hans with a nigh-impossible task: assassinate the prime minister of Britain, Sir Winston Churchill, at the rendezvous point between that political leader and the president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The intended outcome of Hans’ mission would be the demoralization of Britain, making it ripe for invasion by the Nazis. The two world leaders were scheduled to meet aboard ship in the waters off Ship Harbour, Newfoundland, to negotiate the Americans’ involvement in the war effort against Adolf Hitler.?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

From Berlin, Germany, the story follows Hans Farber’s journey under cover to England and then on to St. John’s, Newfoundland. Obstacles threaten to compromise his mission at every turn, from Heinrich Himmler and his Schutzstaffel (SS) attempting to sabotage the Abwehr’s operations, and corrupt operatives impeding Hans’ progress for personal gain, to a pair of British secret agents from MI6 hot on his trail while crossing the Atlantic—all leading to a dramatic showdown between the German spy and his pursuers high up on the cliffs of Ship Harbour, Newfoundland, on that historic day when the prime minister of Britain and the president of the United States came together to discuss the fate of both their nations.

John Clarke has been involved in anti-poverty struggles since he helped to form a union of unemployed workers in London, Ontario, in 1983. He is a founding member of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) and worked as one of its organizers from 1990 to 2019. He is currently the Packer Visitor in Social Justice at York University in Toronto.

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