When weapons-grade nuclear materials left over from the Cold War surface in a North African city, Dalton Drake, former CSIS agent, lethal field operator, and confirmed ladies' man, is hired to track down those responsible. Working with a coalition of intelligence agencies, military branches, and the scientific community, he is tasked with locating and intercepting the terrorists, who are on the move in a stolen cargo ship in the North Atlantic. Soon confronted with former enemies, old secrets from his past, and a former lover, Drake must race against time across the Mediterranean to make things right and stop the terrorists before their brutal grand-scale plan is carried out.