Ed Breckon, a skilled engineer from Minnesota, is kidnapped and taken to a remote site in southwestern Iraq to install cutting-edge automatic machinery he has designed. Iraq will use it to make terror weapons to bring the United States to its knees. Breckon, knowing he will live only as long as he is useful, must deal with the mental and physical hardships of his captivity, as his friends go to the limits of their courage and abilities to mount a rescue. A rogue CIA operative and a revenge driven Iraqi general cause an armor confrontation in the desert of western Iraq where a heart-pounding multi-front battle becomes ensnared with the daring rescue attempt producing a countdown too close to call.