A world-renowned vulcanologist mysteriously disappears after a lecture on geophysical catastrophes. Two policemen are found brutally executed nearby. Then, Mount St Helen's suddenly and inexplicably erupts in Washington State, leaving a wake of death and destruction. The new, liberal administration in the White House speaks of coincidences, but the retired Admiral Morgan and Lt. Jimmy Ramshawe suspect an old nemesis: Major Ray Kerman, the fabled Hamas terrorist. Their suspicions are quickly confirmed by a sinister Hamas threat: to launch a brand-new, state-of-the-art Scimitar SL2 missile straight at the heart of the volcano Cumbre in the Canary islands. The impact would explode the mountain into the Atlantic and send the greatest tidal wave in world history towards the East Coast of the United States. Shocked into action, Admiral Morgan returns to the White House to run Operation High Tide - a desperate race to evacuate the East Coast and locate the nuclear submarine before it launches its deadly weapon.