In the skies above the Pacific, a U.S. Navy F/A-18 from the USS Abraham Lincoln blows up. The question is why? But answers aren't easy to find. When another jet mysteriously explodes in midair, the president can no longer ignore reality: U.S. forces are under attack. But by whom? While the military and intelligence communities race for answers, the president calls on ex-CIA operatives and former military pilots Scott Dalton and Jackie Sullivan to launch their own investigation. An investigation that takes some shocking turns as they uncover a conspiracy that seems to lead directly to the heart of China . . .