Conspiracy thriller series. Ambassador Brydon has only just solved one crisis in Anglo-American relations when another blows up in his face - the British Asian detainees have just been released when the FBI arrest a crew of British mercenaries taking off from a private airfield with a cargo of toxic chemicals. In Florida, Luke Gardner's case is being heard before the Pardons Board, but not everybody is anxious to see this miscarriage of justice averted and Luke's future hangs in the balance.