The Last Cruise reunites Wes Hardin and Tully Cain, now members of VFA-143, the Ghostriders, as they take the Navy's newest fighter, the F-35 Lightning, on its initial deployment, on board the nuclear aircraft carrier, Abraham Lincoln, CVN-72. The cruise gets off to a surprise beginning when the Lincoln Strike Group is tasked to the Caribbean after the shoot down of an American Airlines plane. Future encounters take place in the skies over the Gulf of Aden and the Black Sea before the carrier arrives in the Arabian Sea and commences operations in the turbulent skies over Afghanistan - which presents its own unique set of challenges. The action continues non-abated almost until the Lincoln and her consorts return to their home port of Norfolk, Virginia.