World War III is three months old. After attacking, and sinking the Destroyer USS Stacy Heath, the Chinese took possession of Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. Fortunately, India managed to stop the advance at the Ganges river. Rather than allow the Chinese to seize control of the entire subcontinent, the US sends 20,000 soldiers and marines in to support India.

The Russians use the opportunity to invade Ukraine, which leaves NATO with no choice but to counterattack. A full-fledged European ground war begins. The so-called Axis consists of Russia, China, Pakistan, Syria and Iran - including the Shia paramilitary organization called Hezbollah. As the fighting spreads, the Russians launch a surprise attack on Alaska, in hopes of sapping American resolve - and in an effort to reclaim what they view as Russian soil.

Now, in the Middle East, the Russian commandos and a company-strength team of Hezbollah terrorists attack and capture Egypt’s Aswan Dam. They threaten to blow the dam, flood the Nile River valley and kill 10 million people unless the Egyptian government joins the Axis. But in the wake of internal upheavals, Egypt has no national government. So as the Axis attempts to form a Shia-friendly government, and Egyptian warlords battle each other for dominance, the Allies send a convoy of vessels up the Nile river with orders to capture the dam.

The mission is called Operation Pharaoh. And for it to succeed, Lieutenant Commander Harley Kydd will have to cope with a prickly commanding officer, and battle a succession of warlords, before a final confrontation with Hezbollah. A mysterious CIA agent named Cassandra Cole will be there to help. If they fail, the Axis will seize control of Egypt - and strike a blow from which the Allied war effort will never be able to recover.