The clock is ticking. In the North Pacific, the crew of a deep-sea recovery ship, the MV Challenger, are mercilessly gunned to death. Only one man survives, adrift in the ocean, and hundreds of miles from land. In the deserts of Iraq, a clandestine meeting between one of the world's foremost assassins and his ruthless benefactor sets in train a cascade of horrific events that will shape the world for good. And in America, with two weeks to go before a NATO summit that President Charles Nash hopes will finally bring peace to the long-simmering cold war between Iran and the United States, a network of sleeper agents prepares to bring America to her knees. They are well armed, trained and funded ... and they're prepared to die. But Jason Trapp is watching. And he's not done yet.