Upon learning from a high-ranking Chinese government defector that China has transferred nuclear weapons technology to North Korea, the American President orders the reopening of the US Embassy in Taipei and announces his support of Taiwan's quest to remain independent. A new Chinese President, Western-educated and progressive, with new ideas of approaching the West, devises a bold plan to bargain for the oil-rich Spratly Islands with Taipei. China's "old guard" and an anxious Chinese military decide to act. 

Navy Reserve Captain Ben McGuire, now the interim Naval Attaché at the newly opened embassy, works with the CIA station chief to investigate stepped-up espionage activities on the island. 

The story's climax includes an assassination attempt, a military coup, and a naval skirmish in the Taiwan Straits. Peace in the region hangs in the balance as Ben McGuire finds himself in the thick of the action, again.