After witnessing a devastating incident in Darfur, Alex Baines is stripped of his security clearance and relegated to a desk job. He's about to resign when his former mentor - now the current Ambassador to the Congo - offers him an opportunity to start over. But the post isn't what Alex imagined. The US company Consolidated Mining seems to be everywhere. When a hostage situation involving a survey team arises, Alex is sent in, finding himself in the middle of the conflict with a guerilla leader and Marie Tsiolo, a native geologist on the team.