Volume 17 of the complete Striker Collection takes us to the start of 2014. Li Ming has returned to Warbury and is once again dating Nick after he was jilted by his actress fiancee. He is tasked with bringing back Warbury's best footballers, who left the club when it faced ruin. But plans go awry when Nick makes a shocking discovery in Los Angeles while trying to convince Fabian De Guisson to return.    
Meanwhile, Eric finds himself in trouble with the police over the name of his pub, The Slapper's Arms. And Li Ming is coerced into a murderous espionage plot backed by China's communist government.