Edwin Terrell, Jr., has enjoyed his life as a consultant after leaving the CIA. He lives comfortably, has amassed a decent stock portfolio, and, even though he's in his sixties, he can look forward to years to come, increasing his net worth. That is, until a diagnosis forces him to face the end of his life sooner rather than later. He finds himself in The Hague, where his former lover, Mai Fisher, works for the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal. Terrell wants to die on his own terms, and he wants Mai to see to that. The only problem is, years before, Mai's husband, Alexei Bukharin, had declared her...

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.