Hidden in the vastness of the world's greatest desert - the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia - a tiny caravan of fugitives and camels moves slowly towards its goal. Deep in the sands are the men they seek, the leaders of Al Qaeda, hunted, pursued and regrouping to strike again.
One man in the caravan stands out. His strength and self- imposed discipline mark him. What drives him on is his obsessive quest to rejoin his family - the leadership of Al Qaeda - for whom he will kill without mercy or conscience.
Searching for him in the limitless sands are American and British experts in counter-terrorism with a full range of sophisticated electronics. But he is no easy prey. If they fail to find and kill him the Outsider will disappear again, before re-emerging in a teeming Western city with a suitcase that will create havoc and death when it is detonated . . .
