Karl Lee, alias Li Fangwei, plays a key role in the secret struggle between the world powers, bypassing Western sanctions to supply dictators with the weapons they need to wipe out their neighboring countries--or even to trigger a third world war.

For almost two decades, intelligence agencies have been hunting for Karl Lee. The FBI has put a $5 million dollar bounty on his head, but nobody has been able to catch him. Now, four award-winning investigative journalists set out to find him. Following the routes of his deliveries and his money, the authors track down Karl Lee's businesses in China and uncover his network of shell companies. During their investigation, they get embroiled deeper and deeper in the shady world of the Chinese phantom, and realize that Karl Lee is just a pawn in a much bigger game of modern warfare and international espionage.