Covert State is set in the near future and reflects a changing world of self-drive cars, maglev city connections and the hint of alien technology, a closely guarded secret shared between Indonesia and Australia.It is a new edition of a previous publication which was titled End State. It is the earliest volume chronologically in The Covert Trilogy, followed by Covert Messages and Covert Citadel. The central theme of the novel, the discovery of a the body of a missing high profile politician Kevin Rowe sets a scene for an unusual and complex inquiry spanning two continents. Police procedural work remains be-devilled by sexist attitudes and embedded conservatism throughout Australia and creates a significant obstacle to the successful solving of this murder mystery. A strong willed and ambitious public servant, Kaz Ingham, has been assigned in the role to lead the inquiry and must overcome police prejudice and threats to her life by an unknown perpetrator who sets a thrilling context to the narrative and a nail biting conclusion to the story.