David Coburn: Working undercover, but profiting from the activities of the remote outpost he is supposed to have infiltrated.

Hari Tan: Sapphire trader turned modern-day pirate preying on shipping in the Malacca Strait.

Heather Cameron: Unicef nurse struggling to prevent the exploitation of children on a beach of toxic waste.

Luther O'Halloran:Nuclear defense analyst on assignment to the US National Counter-Proliferation Centre.

These are the 4 people whos futures hang in the balance when the crew of a Russian super tanker are found dying of radiation poisoning.

There is a conspiracy so menacing that unless Coburn can halt an attack on a war ship in the Yellow Sea, the US will be forced into conflict with an enemy having a nuclear arsenal that this time will be frighteningly real.