Archaeology Professor James Acton simply wants to get away from everything, and relax. A trip to China seems just the answer, and he and his fianc e, Professor Laura Palmer, are soon on a flight to Beijing. But while boarding, they bump into an old friend, Delta Force Command Sergeant Major Burt Dawson, who surreptitiously delivers a message that they must meet the next day, for Dawson knows something they don't. China is about to erupt into chaos...