A desperate SOS from an old friend sends Steve Dane to the rescue only to find that he's too late. Tom Wexler is dead and the stolen Iraqi antiquities he was trying to recover are gone again. With Nina Talikova by his side, Dane is determined to find out who killed his friend and restore a nation's history. But the game board is not in his favor, and when checkmate comes Dane discovers his enemies were once allies who know every move he'll make. In a winner-take-all contest against the toughest odds Dane and Nina have ever faced, they go on the offensive, not knowing if it will be good enough to save the treasures, or even their own lives. An international thrill ride with two of the most dynamic characters in adventure fiction.