66 pages 2 hours read

James Patterson

Cross Down

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Prologue 1-Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue 1 Summary

Content Warning: This section of the guide describes the novel’s treatment of terrorist attacks, which includes the graphic deaths of civilians. The novel also features some racist and sexist language.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Wayne Grissom, sits before the president in the Oval Office where they discuss the deaths of more than 300 Americans in domestic terror attacks. The attacks range from poisoned water to shootings to pipe bombs. The unrelated, home-grown terror attacks are part of a larger, organized terror scheme meant to disrupt the economy and American sense of security.

Prologue 2 Summary

General Grissom explains that what seemed like random fury amid a wasp-like swarm of discontent is coordinated terrorism funded by America’s enemies: “Iran, China, Russia, and some Mexican cartels” (8). Web chatter suggests an attack in DC is imminent. The president makes Grissom the chair of a task force to address the attacks. Grissom suggests that the president temporarily suspend Posse Comitatus, the rule banning the military from participating in civilian law. He further suggests the “[r]estriction of civilian movement, control and oversight of the internet to prevent the spread of misinformation and fake news” and the declaration of martial law (9).

Related Titles

By James Patterson

SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
James Patterson
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Plot Summary
James Patterson
Guide cover placeholder
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
James Patterson
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
James Patterson
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Plot Summary
James O. Born, James Patterson
Guide cover placeholder
SuperSummary Logo
STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
James Patterson, Kwame Alexander
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
Michael Crichton, James Patterson
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Plot Summary
James Patterson
Guide cover placeholder
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
James Patterson, Brian Sitts
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
James Patterson, Chris Grabenstein
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Plot Summary
James Patterson
Guide cover placeholder
SuperSummary Logo
Plot Summary
James Patterson
Guide cover placeholder
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
Chris Tebbetts, James Patterson, Illustr. Laura Park
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Plot Summary
James Patterson
Guide cover placeholder
SuperSummary Logo
Plot Summary
James Patterson
Guide cover placeholder
SuperSummary Logo
Plot Summary
James Patterson
Guide cover placeholder
SuperSummary Logo
Plot Summary
James Patterson
Guide cover placeholder
SuperSummary Logo
Plot Summary
James Patterson
Guide cover placeholder
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
James Patterson, Mike Lupica
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Plot Summary
Bill Clinton, James Patterson
Guide cover placeholder