The African Asset is the fifth novella in the Helen and Frank series by Thomas Morgan. Helen and Frank built their retirement home in Defiance, Missouri, and try to settle into a quiet life. Their friend and colleague, Barney Browning, goes to Africa on a mysterious government assignment and doesn't return.

In Defiance, Helen Palermo began to devise her own plan. She called Rachel Palermo in Chicago on a secure line. "Frank is determined to go to Africa. I can't talk him out of it. I can't even get him to take any of Barney's security people with him. First, he said he'd take security. Now, he says he won't. He's as stubborn as a rock and twice as smart. If anyone ever went on a suicide mission, this is it."

After Frank disappears in Africa, Helen sets out to rescue him. She tangles with warlords, offshore banks, American mobsters, scheming government bureaucrats and miscreants of every stripe. Helen discovers she must postpone her retirement.

In true fiction noir fashion, Thomas Morgan has created another caper filled with intrigue, suspense, twists and turns. The series began in 2021 with Helen and Frank, followed by Marinated Money, Russians and Rubles, and Defiance is Different.

Thomas Morgan Hyers, a practicing pulmonologist in St. Louis. He is in the same age group as the principal characters in the story, and he experienced the year 2020 in his medical practice and in his personal interactions with family and friends. He currently practices pulmonary occupational medicine and conducts clinical research with new pharmaceuticals. He wrote this story during the peak lockdown period when his practice was curtailed by Covid-19. In addition to his medical responsibilities and writing efforts, he likes to spend time with his family, garden and cook.