Bill Bales, a retired federal agent and seasoned undercover operative, now residing in the small Ohio town of Snowker, is pulled back into federal service after two FBI undercover agents are murdered.
When the killers assume the FBI agent's identities, it isn't long before Bales uncovers their motivation to hunt and kill a protected federal witness, who also resides in Snowker under a new identity.
With the help of Deputy U.S. Marshal Joel Gray and FBI Agent Chuck Mathews, the Attorney General sanctions the trio under U.S. Code Title 9, Section 1902, to protect their witness and finish the job that the murdered FBI agents were unable to accomplish.
What culminates is a chess match between Bales and Paul Mastino, the leader of an international arms dealing cartel. A crime boss so powerful and influential, that he easily manipulates the involvement of other U.S. Government law enforcement operatives into providing internal intelligence.
This unorthodox match between Bales and Mastino results in deceit and intrigue that puts the will of an experienced undercover operative against the greed and cunning of a crime lord who will stop at nothing to guarantee his success.
The investigation takes Bales and his team to the Seattle area where the final showdown takes place. But not before a trail of dead bodies dot the landscape in New Jersey, Ohio, Kentucky, Texas and finally Washington State.