After his release from the U.S. Army, former Special Forces Lieutenant Eric LaGrange retired to Damascus. His days are quiet until CIA case officer Roger Shaw knocks at his door and invites him to join the spy world. Shaw needs an asset who understands the Middle East, someone who will help stop the bad guys from killing innocent people.Shaw and LaGrange have gathered intelligence that a terrorist group called the Followers of the Cleric has planned something big. They must work quickly to determine the targetsboth in the United States and the Middle East.Kamal ibn-Sultan, a known terrorist and leader of an international Islamic group, has orders to destroy an ambitious oil pipeline project that reaches from the Caspian Sea to Turkeys Mediterranean coast. Spearheaded by Ambassador Elizabeth Paige, the pipeline serves to help the former Soviet bloc countries develop stronger economies. Paige expects some backlash from the project, but she has no idea of the depth of the threat of danger.