In 1976, a Russian front-line pilot defected to Japan in a MiG-25 Foxbat interceptor, flying virtually at sea level to avoid pursuing fighters and surface-to-air missiles. With about 30 seconds of fuel remaining, he landed at Hakodate Airport, bursting a tire and skidding off the runway. Before the aircraft was handed back to the Russians, American intelligence agencies reduced it to a pile of components and then rebuilt it—but they completely failed to realize the purpose for which the Foxbat was created. Now, American satellites have detected unusual activity at several Algerian air bases, and at Aïn Oussera one large hangar has been cordoned off and armed guards posted outside. Western intelligence agencies suspect that Algeria might be planning an attack on Libya or Morocco, and that they might be keeping new aircraft or weapon systems in the guarded hangar at Aïn Oussera. The only way to find out is to get someone to look inside the building, and it will have to be a covert insertion. This is where Paul Richter is called in, as "a deniable asset," in an exciting non-stop thriller that moves rapidly through Bulgaria, Russia, and ultimately North Korea