Sandra Harrington a young tough-minded CIA case officer teams with her old partner Hayden Stone to prevent Abdul Wahab, a wealthy, influential Saudi Arabian from using his terror organization to cripple the United States and the Western powers. Wahab, a lethal killer, takes pleasure in the Western good life, yet gets headaches and upset stomachs, and is a Cambridge graduate who collects Middle English manuscripts. He gathers a diverse collection of terrorists for the purpose of overthrowing the Saudi Arabian monarchy. His archenemy is Hayden Stone whom he blames for his major setbacks and for whom he carries a vendetta. He is intent on destroying the world-renown Duomo in Florence, Italy. Stone, a retired FBI agent, and now a CIA operative is living with Contessa Lucinda in her Tuscan villa when terrorists send a seven-year-old girl with explosives strapped to her chest to Stone's doorstep. The assassination attempt fails, and the CIA pulls Sandra from her post in Paris to assist Stone. To find and neutralize the terrorists, Sandra travels to Cyprus and Beirut and only escapes death by outshooting a murderous gang. She is a serious professional but has an unresolved conflict over her infatuation with Stone. The countryside and cuisine of Tuscany, Cyprus, Beirut, Cairo, and Paris provide a backdrop to the action.