In Paris the daughter of a powerful Vietnamese drug lord is kidnapped by the heroin cartel. An effort to subdue her with heroin is botched and she stops breathing. Believing her dead she is left on a rural road in France. Her father, learning of her kidnapping, seeks revenge by identifying government officials world wide who facilitate distribution of heroin. The heroin cartel, to preempt what would be a catastrophic development, attacks the drug lord's headquarters in Laos. The drug lord sustains a neck wound so extensive his survival is in doubt. Few surgeons are capable of managing an injury of such magnitude. Recovery of the drug lord is considered vital to the United States war on drugs. Martha Howze is a retired senior officer of the CIA. JP Franklin is a retired military surgeon and medical school professor. Both are recalled to active duty to urgently fly to Vietnam, Howze to manage logistics and security, Franklin to operate on the injured drug lord. The heroin cartel now works to prevent survival of the drug lord and to eliminate those contributing to his recovery. Action takes place in Laos, Vietnam, France, North Carolina and Colorado.