The story arc continues as some of the villains from The King of Plagues are behind a new threat to the world based in the Middle East. In Iran for a rescue mission, Echo team and Joe Ledger are tipped off that seven, or more, nukes are in the hands of an ancient order known as the Red Knights and are currently planted around the world. With an end game that intends to turn the world into a radioactive mess the DMS has very little time to come up to speed and formulate a response. With Ghost at his side, Joe Ledger starts to reveal just who these Red Knights are and he is having a hard time believing what he finds. After all, vampires aren't real, right?

Turns out this threat goes all the way back to the 9th century and is part of an ancient pact that gives new context to the war between Islam and Christianity. Although they do drink blood, these Red Knights aren't traditional vampires and don't propagate by biting others and turning them. In fact, they have a hard time keeping their numbers up at all and their strength is dwindling as they suffer from problems with inbreeding. That is until the modern science of genetics allows them to engineer a solution. This discovery prompts them to decide to alter the world into a radioactive wasteland where they can flourish since it turns out that they are immune to radiation. This armageddon scenario also has ties to prior books as both Hugo Vox, former member of the Seven Kings, and Nicodemus, the enigma who inexplicably escaped his prison cell in The King of Plagues, return to play key roles within the Red Knights' scheme.

This story moves along at a frantic pace and jumps around between multiple points of view and between the past and the present. The usual cast of characters from the DMS is also involved but Joe and Ghost do the heavy lifting and they are pushed to the brink. Joe's inner personalities fall out of balance as the pressure builds and he does some things that he instantly regrets. With Rudy a world away he must fight his inner demons on his own but he does find some new allies along the way too. This one builds to a big finale and I definitely recommend it for Joe Ledger fans.

For audiobook fans Ray Porter does another great narration and at this point any switch away from him would just not be the same. He is the voice of Joe Ledger.