USMC

In the waters of the Atlantic near the Straits of Gibraltar a gigantic cruise liner packed with hundreds of hostages is under the control of a small army of well-armed and trigger-happy terrorists masterminded by a leader who makes the Jackal look like an eagle scout. Among the hostages is the playgirl wife of the US secretary of defense who the terrorists execute on camera before the eyes of the world's media. In the Libyan capital city of Tripoli, al-Sharq, the dictatorial successor to Qaddafi known as the Shark, has two Russian stealth fighters at his command. Called Berkuts or "Golden Eagles," the advanced warplanes are poised to deliver nuclear strikes against the US war fleet lying off the coast of Libya in the Gulf of Sidra.

In the midst of this turmoil, space-based surveillance detects the existence of a nuclear weapon onboard the captured cruise liner. It soon becomes known that once the cruise ship has entered the Med the nuke will be detonated, creating a global choke point for United States sea power that would have disastrous consequences for the future of America and her Western allies. Against the advice of his top cabinet officials the president orders the United States' most capable, yet most unpredictable, special warfare unit on a mission of critical importance to the future of the world -- reclaim the cruise ship before the vessel can enter the Med, kill all terrorists onboard, free the surviving hostages, and disarm or destroy the weapon of mass destruction before it explodes.

The only wild card is Colonel David Saxon, unpredictable commander of Marine Force One. Kept on a tight leash while chained to a desk at the Pentagon for months, Saxon is the one CO with the brains, guts and killer instincts to make mission succeed. But turning Saxon loose might make the cure worse than the cause. As the captured ship nears its target, though, the orders are cut. The "Big Mean One," with Saxon back in command, is agile, mobile, hostile and ready to stage the most audacious and dangerous mission ever attempted in the history of special warfare.