Cold Fire
Dean Ray Koontz
Published: 1991
Pages: 382
Jim Ironheart, an ordinary schoolteacher, flies to Portland, Oregon, on an impulse, unable to explain why he's compelled to make the trip. There he risks his life to save a young boy from being killed by a drunk driver.\Reporter Holly Thorne witnesses Jim's heroism. His athletic grace and courage intrigue her. When he declines to be interviewed for her newspaper, she's impressed by his self-effacement. Soon after, Holly sees a news-wire story about the nick-of-time rescue of a little boy in Boston. There is a photograph of the rescuer -- Jim Ironheart.\Burned out and cynical and looking for a life beyond journalism, Holly finds her newshound instinct rekindled. Her research shows that Jim Ironheart has quietly performed twelve last-minute rescues in twelve far-flung places over the past three months.\Realizing she is onto the biggest story of her life, Holly tracks Jim to California. He insists that he's not a psychic, that he sees no visions; he merely believes God is working through him. Holly is certain his explanation is too simple. About this, she is correct. "There is no wonder in life," she argues, "no great mystery." About THIS, she is dead wrong, for she and Jim Ironheart are about to plunge into a dark sea of wonder, mystery -- and stark terror