Commanding the ballistic missile submarine USS Nevada, keeping her crew trained and alert during ninety-day submerged patrols, and being prepared to launch weapons on valid presidential orders means Mark Bishop carries a burden of command like few other jobs in the military. Mark wants someone to come home to after sea patrols, and he has Gina Gray in mind; life with her would never be boring. But after a tragic breakup, she is focusing all her attention...

"MI5 officer Winnie Monks has never forgotten--or forgiven--the death of a young agent on her team at the hands of a former Russian Army major turned gangster. Now, ten years later, she learns that the Major is travelling to a villa on the popular Spanish holiday destination Costa del Sol, and she asks permission to send in a surveillance unit. They find an empty property near the Major's: the Villa Paraiso. It's perfect to spy from--and as a base...

In Europe, the Americans are pulling out their troops in a tide of isolationism. Britain, torn between loyalties to America and the continent, is caught in the middle. In America, a space shuttle crashes on landing, killing all but one of the crew on-board: a British man named Mike Dreyfuss, who will become vilified by the US press and protesters. Halfway across the world, Martin Hepton, an English ground control technician watches as they lose contact...