Hundreds of innocent passengers on a Boeing have become hostages of terrorists who obey the mysterious Caliph. The leaders of the international anti-terrorist group Atlas were already ready to make concessions, but Peter Stride, head of one of its divisions, decided to send his people to storm the plane and… freed the hostages. A victory? Misconduct? No, an abuse of office, for which Stride was disgracefully dismissed from the army. But he is not one to give up. Stride is ready to continue the hunt for the Caliph—alone.