Dan "Spider" Shepherd is working for MI5, investigating Somali pirates with links to terrorism in Britain. Meanwhile, the crew of a yacht (including the prime minister's god-daughter) has been kidnapped by the pirates and is being held hostage in Somalia. A covert operation run by MI5 hopes to kill two birds with one stone. Shepherd will go undercover on a container ship they know will be targeted by the pirates, and hopefully will discover not only where the yacht's hostages are being held but also the ringleaders behind the terrorist plans. At the same time though, Shepherd is being hunted down by the Real IRA. And now that he's on the container ship his family are alone and vulnerable.