A body hanging from a rafter. An estranged husband bent on revenge.

Police Chief Matt Horning and State Department Special Agent Fern Byrne return in a thrilling tale of international intrigue that begins with a heartbreaking death on a mysterious island in the Pacific Ocean, and ends up on powerful desks in Washington, D.C.

West Coast billionaire Rohn Reid calls his old friend, the U.S. Secretary of State, to tell him he’s just found a dead body on his private island – Cold Rock Island, about thirty minutes off the southern coast of Oregon. The victim is Hiroshi Matsuda, a military hero who once worked on the island.