By the end of 2023 Ukraine is wholly under the control of the Russian Federation, The United States has begun to withdraw from Europe to face a perceived threat from the east leaving exposed to Russian domination. With tensions running high, the appearance of a superyacht off the coast of Ukraine causes British Naval intelligence to take note. They track the vessel to Istanbul where an agent is despatched to observe it. He notes several visitors to the yacht, photographing them arriving and leaving, the images eventually landing on the desk of Anita, an MI6 officer. Her investigation reveals a disturbing connection. One visitor to the yacht in particular, a tall man of Middle Eastern appearance is, she believes, the same man photographed leaving a terrorist training camp in the northern Iraqi desert some years before and alarm bells begin to ring.