A year after the Serbian warlord Arkan held her captive, U.N. spy Mai Fisher is back in the disintegrating Yugoslavia. This time, she and her partner, Alexei Bukharin, are investigating sniper activity in Sarajevo. On a cold, autumn morning she finds herself at the spot where a young mother was shot dead the day before. Mai feels the pull of justice, not just for this mother but for what Mai lost the year before. After it all goes horribly wrong, Mai still wants justice, but Alexei understands sometimes vengeance is the better option.