Razio Yamata is one of Japan's most influential industrialists and wields tremendous economic authority. He has devised a plan to cripple the American greatness, humble the US military, and elevate Japan to a position of dominance on the world stage. When the faulty gas tank on one Tennessee family's car leads to their fiery death, an opportunistic US congressman uses the occasion to rush a new trade law through the system. The law is designed to squeeze Japan economically. Instead, it provides Yamata with the leverage he needs to put his plan into action. Called out of retirement to serve as the US President's new Nationa Security Advisor, Jack Ryan is about to learn that the problems of peace are as complex ? and deadly ? as those of war.