Tall, dark, and seething with hatred, Mustafa al Shatar lives only for vengeance. Liu Pen, spymaster for the Peoples Republic of China, envisions using Islamic terrorists to disrupt Western interests on China's vulnerable southern flank. Admiral Suluvana plots to overthrow the Indonesian government and establish an Islamic state. Together, they scheme to use a genetically engineered version of small pox to attack the West. Their secret base is Nusa Funata, a dark and inhospitable island in the Java Sea. Jon Hunter commands the nuclear submarine SAN FRANCISCO. Driven by an inner fire, Hunter relentlessly pursues every opportunity to prove himself and his beloved boat. Hunter's boss, Commodore Carlucci, will do anything to move his own career forward, including holding Hunter down. When the US intelligence agencies catch some whiffs of the activity on Nusa Funata, the SAN FRANCISCO is ordered to find out what is going on. Once they have confirmed that Nusa Funata is being used to manufacture the deadly biological weapon, the threat must be neutralized. It is exactly the type mission that Hunter had been praying for.