Shortly after takeoff, a jumbo jet explodes over the waters of Long Island, New York. Witnesses claim the aircraft was shot down by a surface-to-air missile; the government insists a mechanical malfunction brought down the airplane. An old CIA file is uncovered which details the President was warned—to preclude commercial airliners from being shot out of the sky either pay a ransom or suffer the consequences.

Just as the Agency finds the shadowy man responsible for the shoot down of the airliner, Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi is suddenly overthrown, sparking a race between the CIA and the terrorist networks to win the ultimate terrorist prize—hundreds of man-portable, shoulder-launched, anti-aircraft missiles.

Duncan Hunter and his top secret airplane once again team up with an expert crew to find the anti-aircraft missiles ahead of the al-Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood, and kill the man who shoots down airliners for profit.