In 1980 WarGames featured a teenager who was about to trigger off a nuclear conflict with a mere video game. Half a century later, at the heart of a society dominated by computer technology where electronic surveillance and automation is everywhere, a young man is likewise caught up in a terrifying spiral of events. On June 20 2027, the first fully automatic pilotless airliner crashes on its maiden flight with 400 passengers on board. At a video-game center in Seattle where he plays almost every day on an aeronautic simulator, John Higgins watches the event as it is broadcast live. While the other two billion viewers are deeply shocked, John is totally stunned, for the crash bears an uncanny resemblance to one of his own virtual flights. In a world where one's every movement is continuously monitored and security constantly threatened by ruthless hackers, he manages to escape from unknown pursuers and sets out in search of the truth, a quest that is shared by CIA agents and a determined crash investigator, and carried out against a background of rivalry between Europe and the US.