Born on the United States Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, N. C., Michael Walsh comes from a long line of American servicemen, including veterans of the Spanish-American War, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Walsh grew up among veterans and intelligence officers in duty stations around the world, including Washington, D.C., San Diego and Pearl Harbor, and even today several members of his family are former or active intelligence professionals with high security clearances. His debut novel, Exchange Alley was a Book-of-the-Month Club alternate selection upon its publication in 1997. His novel And All the Saints was a winner of the 2004 American Book Award for fiction.