Sharks. Assassins. Nuclear bombs. Alex Rider's in deep water.

Reluctant teenage superspy Alex Rider is useful to MI6 in ways an adult never could be. Now they need his help once again.

But a routine reconnaissance mission at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships sets off a terrifying chain of events for Alex that sees him on the run from a Chinese triad gang. Forced to hide out, Alex is sent to Cayo Esqueleto-Skeleton Key- an island near Cuba. Waiting for him there is General Alexei Sarov-a coldly insane Russian with explosive plns to rewrite history.

Alex faces his most dangerous challenge yet. Alone, equipped only with a handful of ingenious gadgets, Alex must outwit Sarov, as the secondstick away towards the end of the world...