 When a rogue element of the British spy group MI6 tests a new weapon called a MPB (micro-pulse bomb) which incinerates people, but leaves equipment intact, Rachel is sent to Sao Paulo, Brazil to bug the designer s laptop computer where her path crosses with Julian Sark who returns, under the cover name of "Bob Brown", to do the same thing. Both do so successfully, and neither party is aware of the other s true identity. Buw when Jack and a fellow MI6 agent, Elizabeth Powell, are captured by Sudanese mercenaries, Sydney and Rachel are forced to team up with Sark to rescue Jack before a much larger MPB bomb is to be set off.