The technicians were sitting at their posts in front of the numerous control panels that operated the main computer when they heard it. Deep in the underground nuclear facility in Bushehr, Iran, three powerful explosions rocked the foundation throughout the complex. The resulting tremor lasted thirty seconds, but seemed a lifetime to those experiencing it. A moment later the alarms sounded and the high-pitched, piercing noise was so terrific that no one could understand what anyone was saying.

"Shut it off!" Dr. Kashir Balim shouted.

A nearby technician pushed a few buttons on his computer and the alarm fell silent. No one uttered a word as they tried to understand what happened. They were all in a daze, their eyes wide from the surprise of the event.

The printer suddenly switched on and sheets of paper spewed out at an incredible rate. A technician ran to the printer and grabbed the papers.

"What do they read?" Dr. Balim asked. There was a hint of desperation in his tone.

"It reads, 'All systems down. The main cooling system has been...'" The technician's voice trailed off as he continued reading. A few silent seconds passed before he slowly raised his eyes to meet Dr. Balim. He swallowed the growing lump in his throat.

"The Emergency Core-Coolant System has shut down!"

The sudden gasp from those in the control room was deafening.

"What do we do?" asked someone in the back of the room.

Dr. Balim could feel his heart rate grow. He looked at the monitor on the wall indicating the temperature of the fuel core and his eyes widened from sheer terror.

"Everyone evacuate immediately!"

But then a voice shot back, "Stay where you are!"

Everyone turned as Colonel Kharum Benghazi entered the control room with a number of soldiers in tow.

"What is going on here?" he asked. Colonel Benghazi was the man in charge of security and when he spoke, people listened.

Dr. Balim ran to the colonel and grabbed him by the lapel of his uniform. "It's the coolant! It shut down! We have to leave before-"

Colonel Benghazi raised his right hand high and brought it down quickly, slapping the doctor hard across the face. "Control yourself, Doctor!" He turned to face the rest of the group. "There will be no evacuation."

"But what can we do?" asked a technician. "The temperature in the fuel core is rising and will destroy this place without coolant."

"What about the secondary control room?" the colonel asked. "If I understand correctly, the coolant can be operated from there, yes?"

"My God! That's it! We can switch on the coolant from there."

A technician went to a computer and began typing on the keyboard. He switched on a video monitor that gave them a bird's-eye view of the secondary control room and he quickly became confused by what he saw on the screen.

"Dr. Balim," he said, "I think you'd better have a look at this.

Colonel Benghazi followed Dr. Balim and when they looked at the monitor they too, became confused by what they saw.

Inside the secondary control room they saw the back of a man as he tied up the three technicians assigned there. Then he shoved them in the corner of the room and appeared to shout orders at them. When he turned around they could see a pistol tucked in the front of his pants.

"What's going on in there?" the colonel asked. "Who is that man?"

When the man on the screen saw the camera he then realized his actions were being observed. They saw him reach for his pistol and when the barrel of the weapon let out a flash the screen went blank.

"Who was that man?" the colonel asked again.

"My God! It's him," said Captain Ali Mourak. He was standing behind Dr. Balim and the colonel.

"Who do you mean?"

"HIM," replied Captain Mourak.

"Can you be specific?" Colonel Benghazi was becoming impatient.

"It's the saboteur, you fool!"

When the saboteur code named SANDMAN creates a fire that threatens to destroy the Bushehr Nuclear Research Facility in Iran, it is up to an egotistical Iranian military officer and a nuclear scientist to prevent the spread of radiation from destroying the Middle East.

All hope of saving the reactor diminishes when they learn the saboteur has barricaded himself in the control room that accesses the coolant, and it quickly becomes a match of wits as soldiers battle the SANDMAN in the dark corridors of the underground facility....But with each passing second the temperature in the fuel core rises, bringing them closer to nuclear armageddon!