The loss of a series of oil tankers, apparently by sabotage, threatens to plunge the world into recession; young people are mysteriously disappearing in the vicinity of Miami, Florida; and in Pakistan a radical Islamist faction is plotting a coup d'etat. The tanker sinkings lead Caroline Kent, troubleshooter for International Petroleum Limited, to investigate a mysterious marine technology consortium and its chairman, Sir Edward Greatorex; gradually she uncovers a murky international conspiracy, in the process raising vital issues concerning the future of the human race and its relationship with the natural world.