Michael Antonowicz has imagined a story ripped from the headlines of the war in Ukraine. Operation Sunflower follows Marine Gunny Sergeant Jerry "Graze" Grazinski into the mountains of Afghanistan and the deadly battle with Isis that ended his military career and nearly his life as well. After months of surgeries and grueling rehab in Ramstein, Germany, Jerry returns to his childhood home in the Finger Lakes of New York state, retiring on beautiful Keuka Lake. His injuries heal, but Graze is tormented by the loss of his dear Afghani friend, Tariq. His Hazara translator and companion had not been heard from since the fall of Kabul.
A month after Russia invades Ukraine, a late night call from Jerry's former commander summons him to a secret base near Warsaw, Poland. The Ukrainian counter-offensive, code named Operation Sunflower, would soon launch, and Jerry would command a secret weapon - The Dagger- on a daring mission behind Russian lines.