Russia faces famine. The Soviets are forced to pin their hopes for survival on the U.S. But as the KGB and the CIA watch in horror, the rescue of a Ukrainian freedom fighter from the Black Sea unleashes savagery that endangers peace–and plunges leaders from Washington to Moscow into a web of overwhelming intrigue, terror, and suspense. Only two lovers can save the world from nuclear destruction. Yet every way out means certain death. and the countdown has already begun.