When the headstrong daughter of a U.S. senator disappears in a warravaged country torn between east and west, only a disillusioned American officer possesses the connections and expertise to track her down-while a startling range of enemies don't want the girl to survive. Up against Islamic extremists, unscrupulous oil executives, rogue Russians and treacherous European "allies," Lieutenant-colonel Evan Burton undertakes a last, deadly mission--faced with a coup in the streets, opium smugglers in mountain fortresses and even elements within the U.S. government determined to stop him.