U.S. Air Force aerial warfare expert Major General Patrick McLanahan has been demoted and moved back to a desk job. But while keeping a keen eye on what's going on with old enemies, he notices that Russia's heavy bomber and tactical bomber bases are busier than ever. McLanahan tries to get his superiors to pay attention and is ignored.
Russian president General Anatoliy Gryzlov is determined to punish McLanahan and his fleet of robotic warplanes for a previous bombing of a Russian air base. To make his point, Gryzlov launches an all-out sneak attack on America -- unlike anything ever believed possible -- that devastates U.S. strategic air forces.
McLanahan has collected information that not only foretold the Russians' daring plan, but also gives him the data he needs to plan a counterstrike that could stop the Russian war machine dead in its tracks. But McLanahan is no longer in charge of Air Battle Force, his combat unit of the future, and the Russian sneak attack has left the embattled U.S. president with few options: retaliate with every weapon in his arsenal, even if it triggers a global thermonuclear war, agree to a cease-fire on Russia's terms ... or listen to a disgraced and discredited young bomber commander's long-shot plan of attack. To prevent a destructive stalemate, McLanahan may have to take matters into his own hands.