CIA agent John Wells is back in Washington, recovering from his lastmission. His wounds have healed but his mind is far from clear. He isrestless, uneasy in his skin, careless with his safety. When the CIA findsevidence of a surge in Taliban activity, backed by an unknown foreignpower, it takes little to convince him to go to Afghanistan toinvestigate. But what Wells discovers there is far from what he expected.A deadly power play in China; a mission in North Korea gone terriblywrong; Iran determined to go nuclear; a mole within the ranks of the CIAwho is about to light a fuse. The world is hurtling towards confrontationand, this time, there may be nothing Wells can do to stop it.