Tensions flare in Northwest Asia and Op-Center races to prevent World War III in this chilling, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller from the authors of the USA Today bestseller Out of the Ashes.
When a team of assassins murder a high-ranking North Korean general and his family in their sleep, making it look like a robbery, events are set in motion that could shake the balance of world powers. Meanwhile, a U.S. naval combat ship, the USS Milwaukee, is attacked by North Korean forces in the middle of a training exercise off the shore of South Korea, and Commander Kate Bigelow is forced to ground the ship to avoid being captured. The crew takes refuge on a tiny island, trapped dangerously between the grounded ship and a fleet of hostile North Korean soldiers.
Op-Center intelligence discovers a secret alliance behind the attack-a pact between China and North Korea that guarantees China total control of a vast oil reserve found beneath the Yellow Sea. As both sides marshal their forces for a major confrontation at sea, Chase Williams and his Op-Center organization devise a plan to secretly spirit the American crew from the island and out from under North Korean control. But the North Koreans are not finished. In a desperate gamble, they unleash a terrorist cell on the American homeland. Only Op-Center can uncover their plan and stop it in time to prevent a major catastrophe that could lead to all-out war.

DICK COUCH graduated from the Naval Academy in 1967 and served as a Surface Warfare Officer and SEAL Platoon Commander in Vietnam. Dick enjoys a unique relationship with the US Special Operations Command and has been allowed to document the special operations training venues for SEALs, Army Special Forces (Green Berets), Rangers, and Marines.
GEORGE GALDORISI is a career naval aviator. He began his writing career in 1978 with an article in U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings. He has written eight books, including (with Dick Couch), the New York Times best seller, Tom Clancy Presents: Act of Valor, the novelization of the Bandito Brothers/Relativity Media film.