Harm and Mac travel to Bahrain to determine if a female Marine found aboard a terrorist boat that attacked a U.S. Naval destroyer was coerced into helping her captors or was a willing participant.

Sgt. Joan Steele, kidnapped by terrorists a month before the attack, insists that the cooperation she gave the terrorists was designed to foil their plot. Harm, who is defending her, finds her claim dubious. CIA Operative Clayton Webb asks for her help in tracking down a known terrorist who is planning to bomb another U.S. target within 48 hours, and Steele readily agrees. But then she suddenly disappears, confirming Harm’s suspicions and, more importantly, leaving the target — a busload of American children — at risk.