A new era appears to be dawning in the Middle East. But the free world must be wary of old enemies . . . Rebel Iranian General Hesarak al-Kan Buzhazi is launching a coup that could destroy Iran’s theocratic regime, and must turn to his old nemesis, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan, for help. On presidential authority, McLanahan sends a new, top-secret fleet of XR-A9 Black Stallion spaceplanes into the fray. The strike force, capable of virtually instantaneous global reach—led by test pilot and astronaut Captain Hunter Noble—could change the course of history in the Middle East for generations to come. But the reactivation of America’s first military space station has rekindled fears of a space arms race. And with McLanahan caught in a furious political battle with those secretly working to undermine his military initiative, it falls to Noble and his dedicated space engineers to halt a growing insurgency in Iran that threatens to erupt into a devastating worldwide jihad.