The year is 1998. Constitutional rule in the United States has been abolished. The People's Movement, a radical, collectivist regime controls most of the country. Standing in their way of total control are the Constitutionalist, a tough resistance group determined to topple the revolutionary regime. The Constitutionalists' ace-in-the-hole is The Almond Project, the code name for three Trident submarines cruising the seas with enough nuclear warheads to maintain a balance of power.