Author Trevor Scott takes us on a thrill ride full of spycraft, geo-political espionage, advanced weaponry, treason, and a man's fine appreciation for the female body, even when its owner is a stone killer with a scorecard that makes serial devourer Jeffrey Dahmer look like an intern.

When Colonel Yuri Pushkina gives the order to fire a Russian test missile, with his old pal, ex-CIA agent Jake Adams on hand as independent observer, he's showing off. But he goes ballistic when the arcing Topol-M disappears from the control monitor. Turns out the U.S. Space Command used the occasion for a test of its own, taking the missile out with COIL, their latest laser weapon.

It's a shot that resonates in every secret crevice of the international military community. The software codes for the laser would be of inestimable value to any clandestine agency. Unfortunately, a programmer at Brightstar International, Cliff Johanson, is willing to commit treason for remuneration.

But first, interested enemies need to find out what brought the missile down. Laughing Dragon, a Russian agent-runner who is capable of killing someone for interrupting his enjoyment of The Beatles, uncages ace Chinese assassin Li for the job. When she and a cohort intrude on Jake in the middle of the night to drill him for intel, he disarms her with a chop to the throat and discovers her beauty but not the danger of leaving her alive. He escapes half-naked through the forest and is rescued by a Network service officer who recruits him to find a military installation deep in the mountains of Northern Manchuria.

This sex and assassination mission to prevent our technology from falling into unfriendly hands builds up high-pitched intensity in both pursuits.