In their new mission the Shadow Squadron is faced with a diplomatic nightmare--a Chinese oil rig in Cuban waters has been taken over by American mercenaries who are holding the workers hostage, and it is up to Ryan Cross and his men to get there before the Cuban military, and avoid an international incident.

Lieutenant Commander Ryan Cross is in charge of a special operations force drawn from every branch of the military, and called the Shadow Squadron--and for their first mission they have to rescue several hostages from Somali pirates.

When an unidentified drone crashes in Antarctica, and the research station nearby stops communicating, Ryan Cross and the Shadow Squadron are sent to investigate--but their job is complicated by a Russian special forces team, and an officer of Phantom Cell who is more interested in the device than the safety of the American scientists.

Based on a tip from CIA agent Bradley Upton, the Shadow Squadron rushes to Yemen in an attempt to apprehend an elusive Iraqi explosives expert, but when the mission goes wrong Ryan Cross finds himself alone, face to face with the Iraqi, and confronting the truth about the CIA agent.