Dirk Pitt en zijn NUMA-team ontdekken de oorzaak van een aantal grote natuurrampen. Er worden enorme akoestische golven opgewekt door de diamantholding van Arthur Dorsett, die hoopt op die manier grote onderzeese diamantaders te ontginnen. Het NUMA-team komt erachter dat Dorsett een ultieme golf wil laten exploderen in de buurt van Hawaii, wat minstens een miljoen mensenlevens zal kosten. Het Dorsett-imperium moet ten val worden gebracht. Een nieuwe uitdaging voor Dirk Pitt en zijn team.
Hard toe aan een paar dagen rust, neemt Dirk Pitt zijn intrek in een huisje aan het Orion-meer in de staat Washington. Maar wat een ontspannende vakantie had moeten worden, verandert in een levensgevaarlijk avontuur. Pitt ontdekt dat het gebied rond het meer in handen is van de schatrijke zakenman Qin Shang, die voor veel geld Chinese immigranten naar Amerika en Europa smokkelt. Als Pitt een kijkje onder water neemt, stuit hij op honderden lijken. Boven water weet hij ternauwernood een groepje ontredderde immigranten van de verdrinkingsdood te redden.
Per Dirk Pitt, semplicemente, una vita senza avventura non è degna di essere vissuta. Questa volta l'avventura si chiama Qin Shang, un abietto cinese privo di scrupoli e avido di ricchezze che ha fondato il proprio impero sul contrabbando di droga, di armi e soprattutto di vite umane, la sua merce di scambio preferita, al centro di loschi traffici d'immigrazione illegale. E adesso Qin Shang è disposto a qualsiasi cosa pur d'impadronirsi del relitto di una misteriosa nave carica di capolavori dell'antica arte cinese razziati da Chiang Kaishek durante la sua fuga dalla Cina e comprendente i resti preziosissimi del cosiddetto uomo di Pechino. La formidabile squadra della NUMA, comandata da Dirk Pitt, non ha però alcuna intenzione di stare a guardare. Seguendo le tracce di Qin Shang ha costruito un'enorme installazione portuale in una zona lontana dalle comuni rotte commerciali. Perchè ha scelto un luogo così improbabile? Che cosa si nasconde dietro quell'impresa? Mentre si prepara la drammatica resa dei conti finale, una sola cosa è sicura. Pitt ha di fronte il più pericoloso nemico che abbia mai incontrato...
Thousands of years ago, the Persian king Xerxes the Great was said to have raided the Treasury at Delphi, carrying away two solid gold pillars as tribute. In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte and his army stumble across the pillars in the Pennine Alps. Unable to transport them Napoleon creates a map on the labels of twelve bottles of rare wine. And when Napoleon dies, the bottles disappear. Treasure hunters Sam and Remi Fargo are exploring the Great Pocomoke Swamp in Delaware when they are shocked to discover a World War II German u-boat. Inside, they find a bottle taken from Napoleon's 'lost cellar.' Fascinated, the Fargos set out to find the rest of the collection. But another connoisseur of sorts has been looking for the bottle they've just found. He is Hadeon Bondaruk - a half- Russian, half-Persian millionaire. He claims to be a descendant of King Xerxes himself. And he wants his treasure back.
"[A] rewarding thriller...It contains enough twists and genuine surprises to keep the reader racing toward the satisfying final pages."THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEWAlthough American painter Michael Doss has been schooled in the ancient ways of the warrior, he leads a quiet life. Until the tragic death of his father ignites the warrior spirit in his blood that will not be quenched until he uncovers the secret of his father's enigmatic life. His journey plunges him into a dangerous underworld, where he finds himself in lethal combat with a sinister Japanese organization that is bent on destroying the United States through global economic chaos. Doss is trapped. His only chance for survival is a final confrontation, face to face, with the vile assassin behind it all, Zero. "From the Paperback edition."
