In the East China Sea, Japanese and American warships on scheduled training exercises are attacked without warning and sunk by a hypersonic weapon for which there seems to be no defense. The U.S. Government receives an anonymous message: withdraw all military forces from Southeast Asia or suffer total destruction of the Seventh Fleet. Meanwhile, a young woman named Jade is viciously attacked in Bend, Oregon. She narrowly escapes harm when Peter steps in to protect her from the would-be kidnappers. But the threat persists when others are sent to complete the job. When Peter is summoned to Brunei, he unearths dangerous secrets--secrets aimed at neutralizing the threat posed by Peter and Jade while ushering in a new world order.