A genetic disease known as Brugada Syndrome kills its victims without warning, without symptom. When the President of the United States falls victim to a weaponized and contagious strain of the disease, the Chess Team - King, Queen, Rook, Knight and Bishop - are assigned to protect Sara Fogg, a CDC detective, as she journeys to the source of the new strain: the Annamite Mountains in Vietnam. Surrounded by Vietnam War era landmines, harsh terrain and more than one military force not happy about the return of American boots to the Ho Chi Minh trail, the fight for survival becomes a gruelling battle in the humid jungle. Pursued by VPLA Death Volunteers, Vietnam's Special Forces unit, the team's flight through a maze of archaic ruins reveals an ancient secret...a primal secret that may stop the disease from sweeping the globe - even as it threatens both the mission and their lives.