In 2045, as World War Three enters its second year, opposing armies, in defiance of their political masters, pull mankind back from the brink of a nuclear Armageddon, negotiate peace and install a new system of government - the World Social Order (WSO). 2115: When Graztec BZ, a super-explosive only available to the military, is identified as the material used in a devastating bomb in Madrid, the Armed Forces take control and General Victoria West from Military Intelligence is appointed to hunt down the perpetrators, working with major international police forces. A crack team of operatives from the Special Operations Force, commanded by veteran Major Connor O'Brien, is the general's front-line unit, relentlessly tracking the invisible enemy, which is always one step ahead, from the streets of Madrid to Mexico, Canada, Ukraine, Italy, Africa and the Middle East. Extremists fuelling the fires of discontent, coupled with violent attacks on WSO officials in Pakistan, leave President of the World Alexei Fedorov facing the unthinkable - a return to the hostilities which plagued the human race in the 21st century. Forced to acknowledge that the goal of equality for all, set by the founders of the WSO, has not been realised, he embarks on a tour to regions where his authority has been challenged, to seek solutions. In the Vatican, Cardinal Francis Winchester, a master of political strategy, sees the growing dissension as an opportunity to enhance his plan to restore Catholicism to the dominant global role it has held throughout the centuries. Aided by skilled assassin Sister Marilyn Jones, he plots the Pope's assassination, his goal to take his place. In the Middle East, a little-known Islamic sect stumbles upon a cache of Graztec and plans to strike a fatal blow during the president's trip. As the Madrid terrorists prepare for the second stage of their bombing campaign, West and O'Brien zero in on events in Rome and Afghanistan. What they discover raises questions no one wants to hear. What role did the military play? Was the attack the work of Islamic extremists or a right-wing group seeking to create a rift between Islam and Christianity to bring down the WSO? As violence escalates across the globe, the spectre of conflicts - like those that preceded World War Three - once again looms over humanity.