A global scam. A phantom ship. A political undercurrent.

When a cargo ship and all her crew vanish, the owners turn to the International Maritime Bureau to investigate. Gavin Blair, a refined Brit, and Art Lemman, a brash New Yorker, being chalk and cheese, have an uneasy and sometimes hostile relationship - but they must work together.

The more Gavin and Art dig, the more questions they have. The evidence seems to point to insurance fraud, until they discover an American tycoon is desperate to buy out the owners of the shipping company. Something reeks of corruption.

As Gavin and Art criss-cross from Singapore to New York; from Paris to London and into equatorial Africa, they are dogged by death and violence - but it is an act of treachery which pushes their relationship to breaking-point.

When all hell is about to break loose, they stumble on a sinister twist involving major world powers that will force them to trust each. Whatever their simmering differences, somehow Gavin and Art must combine in a dramatic race to prevent an unimaginable atrocity that will reshape the world order.