When an operation in Istanbul ends in disaster, James Bond is missing and presumed to be dead, and the identities of every active undercover MI6 agent are leaked onto the internet. In the aftermath, questions are raised over M’s ability to run the Secret Service, and she becomes the subject of a government review over her handling of the situation. When the service itself is attacked, Bond’s sudden reappearance gives M the pretext she needs to seek out Raoul Silva, a dangerous villain claiming a personal connection to both of them – but as he follows a trail from London to the South China Sea, Bond soon finds his loyalty to M challenged over secrets from her past.