Power-hungry oilman Pavel Kazakov has an audacious plan to restore Russia to glory by building a pipeline through the Balkans, backed by the Russian army. But Kazakov hasn't reckoned with Patrick McLanahan, the US Air Force general who is determined to stop him. When McLanahan is sent on a mission deep into Russia, events spiral out of control and soon he must decide whether to obey his isolationist new President - or to follow his instincts and create havoc...