Saint (novel)

Saint is a 2008 mystery novel written by Ted Dekker. It is the second in the series of the 'Project Showdown' Books which are also called 'The Paradise Novels'.

We are introduced to a man named Carl Strople who seems to be going through a bit of an identity crisis. He was stripped of his identity when he was inducted into an elite underground assassin group called the X Group. We are also introduced to Kelly, Carl's wife. After a series of intense training exercises, consisting of mock assassinations and hunting games, Carl is almost ready to be assigned his first mission.

Meanwhile, a man named David Abraham is the spiritual advisor to the President of the United States, Robert Stenton. David has informed the President about a great deal of Project Showdown, and while the President remains skeptical of the true extent of what happened fifteen years ago in Paradise, CO, he holds David's opinion in high regard; second only to his son, Jamie. Robert has been against the new peace treaty that Iranian Minister of Defense Assim Feroz has been pushing, believing that once the other countries had Israel disarmed, they would attack without hesitation.

Carl and Kelly arrive in New York City with Carl's mission, kill Assim Feroz. After a few days of scouting and setting up the hit, they are ready to assassinate the Iranian Defense Minister. Right before Carl pulls the trigger, Kelly informs him there is a change in the mission, and he is now supposed to assassinate the President of the United States. Carl can't bring himself to pull the trigger because his mind is screaming that the President is somehow his true father. He aborts and they decide to set up for another shot the next day. This time, despite the same mental anguish, he shoots, but is able to control the bullet's course, directing it to miss all the vital organs, leaving the president with merely a flesh wound. This is when Carl meets David Abraham. David, seeming to know more about Carl than Carl himself does, asks him to meet his son Samuel. When Carl sees Samuel, he is informed that his real name isn't Carl, but Johnny Drake, and that he was born in Paradise, Colorado. Samuel tells Carl/Johnny to go to Paradise to find out more.

Johnny then goes to Paradise with Kelly to see if he can piece together his past. There, he meets his mother and David, who tells him about his role in Project Showdown. However, he is quickly found by another member of the X Group, the Englishman. He has always been Johnny's rival, and is able to control his weapons telekinetically, making them float and fly through the air. Johnny barely makes his escape, but Kelly is taken hostage. Johnny travels back to New York to complete his original mission, which is to kill Assim Feroz. After doing just that and eluding Englishman, Kelly is freed with a message to Johnny that "he will be his own undoing."