Very soon, the top four Western leaders—American, British, French and German—will be on their way to meet their Soviet counterpart in Vienna for a crucial summit. Tweed and Martel believe one of them is the target for assassination. They must urgently work out which one—or a nightmare will come true....

Alan Brodie, a highly decorated former Special Forces operative in the British army, is a trained killer with extensive experience in undercover black ops in the deadly battlefields of Iraq, Afghanistan, and other deniable war zones. Retired from the military and now working in the private security sector, Brodie has just agreed to buy a beach front bar/restaurant in the Almeria region of Spain.

At a US research facility funded by the military and clandestine agencies, a super-virus has been created as a first-strike military weapon. During its conception, the anti-virus has furthered the possibilities of medical research by decades. Such is its potential, treachery has struck from within. If the virus is released, then the anti-virus will be worth billions to the pharmaceutical industry. Isobel Bartlett worked on the project and knows its potential.

NYPD detective Jack McNeal is used to asking the tough questions. But a late-night visit from the Secret Service lands Jack on the other side of the table—as a suspect in the disappearance of his estranged wife, Caroline, a prominent reporter on the White House beat. When her body is found floating in the Potomac, Jack is overcome by disbelief and despair.

Former air force combat rescue officer Special Agent Clayton White now works for the Secret Service performing routine escort missions for politicians. These missions may not be quite as exciting as his time in the military, but Clayton’s okay with that. It gives him more time to see his girlfriend, Veronica Hammond—an archaeologist who also happens to be the vice president elect’s daughter. But Clayton’s seemingly manageable new routine takes a startling turn when South African mercenaries target Veronica at an awards gala celebrating her work.