Somalia has split in two, with armed insurgents threatening American lives. China has emerged as a leading arms exporter, supplying weapons to Third World nations. But before National Security Advisor Willis Avery can deal with either danger, he faces a new challenge On her maiden voyage, Beijing's newest and most advanced nuclear submarine is destroyed by a weapon of unimaginable power. While the loss of the sub is kept secret, America and her allies want to know what happened. Avery believes a renegade faction of China's Navy is behind the attack, striking from a secret naval facility in the South China Sea, and assembles a group to investigate. Leading the mission is Marine Corps Lieutenant Michael Neill. Fresh from his assignment in the Ukraine, Neill and his team, with a little help from British Intelligence and the Royal Navy, must find a way to locate the weapon before it is deployed again. Along the way, they must stop a Chinese Admiral who plans on seizing control of an independent Taiwan. Neill's squad is aided by a mysterious informant, but is he baiting them into a trap?