A luxurious vacation cruise to the exotic locales of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden turns into a nightmare for passengers and crew when their ship is suddenly attacked and captured by a band of bloodthirsty Somali pirates. A rescue mission fails, leaving the decks covered in blood. The pirates threaten to execute all the hostages unless they are paid $200 million within seven days. But information gleaned from a captured Al Qaeda operative indicates that there is a far more dangerous conspiracy afoot. Jake Grafton is assigned to negotiate with the brutal pirate chief while Tommy Carmellini and a team of CIA and Navy SEAL operatives mount an undercover operation to save the hostages and keep the United States from being maneuvered into a murderous war.