February, 1989. In the midst of an international crisis, Heidi Milligan, a beautiful, brilliant American naval commander accidentally discovers an obscure reference to the long buried North American Treaty - prompting the President of the United States to the shocking realization that the treaty offers the only salvation for an energy-starved, economically-devastated America. For the United States, possession of this document is suddenly worth billions. But to Great Britain, it's worth a war. The deadly race is on to locate and raise one of the signed copies of the treaty from its ocean grave - where it has been lying for 75 years. The only American for such a mission is Dirk Pitt, who proved invincible in Raise the Titanic! Now, with the future of virtually every person in the world at stake, he must survive a complex international mission far more dangerous than any he has ever undertaken. His quest: slash through a tangled web of cover-ups and perilous intrigue and - against all odds - recover the North American Treaty for the United States. In London, a daring counterplot is being orchestrated to secure the vital document for Great Britain. The treaty must not be implemented. Brian Shaw, a master spy who has often worked hand in hand with American agents against SMERSH, no confronts his most challenging command - stop Dirk Pitt. Pitt and Shaw, two of the most cunning men in the world, collide head-on in their frantic search. And caught in the middle is Heidi Milligan. In the throes of international uproar, her passions and her loyalty are put to a severe test when she finds herself enmeshed in a torrid love triangle with the two battling foes.