Hong Kong 1997. Only a few short months of British sovereignty left before the territory returns to Chinese rule. It's a feverish city. And the spooks are hard at work, jostling for position and influence. So when an elderly man emerges from the sea, claiming to know secrets he will share only with the Governor, a young MI6 agent, Joe Lennox, sees the chance to make his reputation. But when the old man, a high-profile Chinese professor, is spirited away in the middle of the night by Joe's superiors and the CIA, it's clear that there's a great deal more at stake than a young spy's career. The professor holds the key to a sinister and ambitious plan that could have catastrophic repercussions for the world in the next century . . .