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The attempted assassination of the Spiritual Ruler creates a great stir in Iran when the would-be killer admits under torture that he is from adjoining Uzbekistan. Terrible weather conditions have forced the greatly overpopulated country into near starvation. Ayatollah Savafi responds by vowing to restore the ancient Persian empire in the Balkans and in East Africa to relieve the plight of fellow Shi'a millions. Samantha Hanson, an Arabic scholar and the National Security Adviser to the new President, has grave concerns that the attempt will pose a threat to Western oil supplies and recruits her ex-lover from student days, Peter Houghton, to be her eyes and ears in Iran. He uncovers the plot and follows the action through to Madagascar and Albania while the irradiation of the main Saudi Arabian oil depot forces up the cost of energy in an attempt to destabilise the West. However, the Ayatollah's real objective is to create an Islamic Empire in the East and he plants a nuclear device in New York harbour in an attempt to stop the US Seventh Fleet from interfering. The finale is a tense race between the invasion and the Hanson/Houghton team...