The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and her crew have been ordered to the Sea of Japan. The North Koreans have accelerated their nuclear weapons building program despite continual protests from the United States and the UN Security Council. The North Korean government had been improving on purchased Russian technology since the early sixties, with the culmination of their latest project, the Taepo Dong III. Once again deadly, long-range nuclear missiles could be targeted on the United States. While the US and Chinese try to appease each other and gain the upper hand, the North Koreans continue to set forth on a deadly path for the future. Can the US impede the North Korean build-up peacefully and prevent a regional war in the Pacific or will the Reagan and her crew be pushed to the breaking point to preserve an already fragile peace? Unnerved by neighboring nations and pressure from the US, the North Korean government, run by a fanatical dictator, plays its final hand.