Unbeknownst to them, Rehan plots to bring his country and India to nuclear war by orchestrating terrorist attacks behind the scenes on behalf of terror groups allegedly backed by the Pakistani government, aiming to create an Islamic caliphate in its aftermath.

For the final step of his operation, he steals two nuclear weapons from the Pakistani military armory and then secretly gives them to Dagestani terrorist organization Jamaat Shariat, who would then use them to attack Moscow using space delivery rockets.

The resulting turnaround in public opinion enrages Czech billionaire and Kealty supporter Paul Laska, later launching a vendetta to discredit Ryan six weeks before the presidential election.

Kovalenko uncovers Clark's unauthorized assassination of an East German Stasi operative in Berlin in 1981, which is not part of the full presidential pardon Ryan had signed for his friend and making him accountable for murder.

In Kazakhstan, Jamaat Shariat forces led by the head of a Russian space company allied with them hijack the Baikonur Cosmodrome, threatening to launch the nuclear-tipped missiles and send them into Moscow unless their imprisoned commander has been freed from military custody.

When they find out about the missing nuke, Ryan later dispatches Rehan after a lengthy chase across the train tracks, while Caruso and al Darkur defuse the bomb.

Chicago Tribune praised the book, saying that "Ultimately, it's Clancy's gift for taking three novels' worth of plotting and knitting it into a single continuous and compelling story that makes this new offering so successful.

"[6] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gave it a mixed review, noting the implausibility of the plot but concluding that "the action is nearly nonstop and only occasionally wildly improbable; the description of weapons and tactics employed by protagonists and antagonists is accurate and comprehensive, and is inserted smoothly into the narrative.