An eighty-foot yacht suddenly capsizes in the Aegean, leaving only six survivors. Then, minutes later, in the same area, an unidentified four-engine jet crashes into the sea. Are these twin disasters more than coincidence? Commander Talbot and the crew of the HMS Ariadne are assigned to retrieve from the ocean floor the jet's volatile cargo: atomic and hydrogen weaponry with the force to destroy millions. As the delicate operation proceeds, Talbot finds himself trapped in a whirl of nightmarish events involving terrorism and drugs -- and a diabolic plot that leads straight to the Pentagon.