In a world where terrorism is a fact of life, no one inspires more fear than "January 30," the most mysterious terrorist group in Europe, whose targets appear to be everyone: Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, Israelis and Arabs, American and Russian diplomats. In London, the British prime minister launches a special investigation to hunt down the members of January 30.

Enter Brigadier Charles Ferguson, of the British prime minister's elite Group Four, and Sean Dillon, once the Provisional IRA's most feared enforcer, now Ferguson's strong right hand and the hero of Thunder Point and On Dangerous Ground. As Ferguson and Dillon close in on the January 30 terrorists, a wild card changes everything.

In an effort to maintain the ceasefire in effect in Northern Ireland, the president of the United States and the Irish and British prime ministers request Senator Patrick Keogh to mediate between the loyalist and Republican factions. The senator agrees, though he knows it means putting his life on the line. The worst fears of the governments of all three countries are realized when the terrorists, seizing the chance to disrupt the peace process, target the senator for death.

It is up to Ferguson and Dillon to stop them.