Ace oil troubleshooter Caroline Kent has had some difficult assignments in her time. But the problems faced by International Petroleum Ltd in the developing West African state of Kambata seem especially intractable. There, Caroline finds herself caught between militants whose activities threaten to disrupt the oil production, and thus to some extent damage the nation's prosperity, and a corrupt and inefficient − yet brutal − government which doesn't seem to want to take them on. To make matters worse, there are allegations that IPL itself has been guilty of dodgy practices. If she wishes to present the acceptable face of capitalism she must find out whether they are true, and take the necessary action. While behind the scenes a murky political conspiracy is unfolding, which threatens to ensnare Caroline in its web…as well as backfire disastrously on the plotters…