Having rescued Liskard from death, Simon discovers that the man's enemies will stop at nothing to get their man. Liskard, the Prime Minister of a former British colony, it seems, is more vulnerable than most because he has political as well as personal enemies.

A remarkable modern-day death cult has spread among students throughout the world. But when Simon finds himself marked down as the latest victim and the threatened event becomes the real thing, he turns his attention to preventing further deaths.