Two decades ago, the producers of the James Bond movies hired legendary crime novelist Donald E. Westlake to come up with a story for the next Bond film. The plot Westlake dreamed up--about a Western businessman seeking revenge after being kicked out of Hong Kong when the island was returned to Chinese rule--had all the elements of a classic Bond adventure, but political concerns kept it from being made. Never one to let a good story go to waste, Westlake wrote an original novel based on the premise instead--a novel he never published while he was alive.

A Western businessman seeks revenge after being kicked out of Hong Kong when the island was returned to Chinese rule. He's created a device that can produce a destructive wave, which he tests in the Coral Sea.