David Rankin is an ex-member of the Special Boat Service who has used his underwater expertise to develop a successful marine salvage company and has just secured a multi-million pound contract that will set him up for life. However, he then receives news of the mysterious death of his brother Gordon, who worked for MI5 and soon finds himself running for his life following attempts to kill or kidnap him, simply because of a digital flash drive that Gordon has sent him containing explosive information relating to the death of their father during the Falklands War. Not knowing who he can trust, Rankin calls upon the skills he learned during his war service in Iraq to uncover Phoenix, a shadowy conspiracy that dates back decades and is effectively running the Arms Trade around the world — the Masters of War. It is this organisation that is ultimately responsible for the deaths of his father, mother and brother and Rankin is determined to make them pay for it, even though it may well cost him his life.