Running off to join the French Foreign Legion used to be every boy's dream of action and adventure. But for Lieutenant Bill Reilly-half Irish, half American-the dream has turned into a nightmare. And it all begins with the gruesome delivery of a severed hand. The dead, gnarled fingers hold a message from the Berber chief Abd el-Ulad. He challenges the courage of the Legion soldiers and says he holds an American woman captive-who, if Reilly doesn't come to her rescue, is next up for dismemberment. Reilly abandons his post guarding the trains and goes after her. But it's all a trick. In his absence, the railroad falls victim to a terrorist attack. But who set the trap and engineered the sabotage? Reilly is caught in a triangle of treachery as the French, Spanish and native Berbers vie for control. His fate-as well as that of the American woman-rests on his ability to escape a spider's web of double- and triple-crosses and uncover the truth in a desert of deception.