Rise of the Taishaku

An operation to break up a major smuggling ring that supplies hard currency and cutting-edge missile technologies to the North Korean regime goes horribly wrong. The event rocks Japan which, in the midst of a political transition, finds itself the target of Pyongyang's increasingly hostile words and actions. And for Trinh Archer, the American operative who spearheaded the effort, and for her Japanese partner Ryutaro Nishi, the failure becomes deadly personal.

Meanwhile, Wilson Bennett, the US administration's new National Security Council executive with extensive ties to Asia, believes he has found a senior North Korean engineer with key insights into North Korea's weapons of mass destruction programs who is ready to defect. A leery US national security apparatus, with the experienced Madeleine Tucker leading on the front lines in Asia, questions the source-and Bennett's methods. Tokyo, for its part, explores its own options in the wake of yet another attack targeting the Japanese homeland.

Will they come together against a common enemy, or will agendas, hardened mindsets, and leaks prevent them from taking decisive action against the greatest danger to Asian-and to US-security?