As a used-up CIA Black Ops Agent and ex-NYPD cop, Nick wants to put his shadowy past behind him and settle down with the women he loves - his wife and daughter. But events conspire to make him realize that leaving the world of espionage and the shadow men who live there may not be possible. . Nick lives by a code of honor of decades past. Yet he lives in today's world where betrayal, violence and mayhem are common occurrences. Ripped from today's headlines, a terrorist plot to harm America and all Nick holds dear may be afoot. Nick must use all of his rusty skills and get the help from other Shadow Men from his past to expose and thwart a possible plan to rival 9-11. . Set in the rustic seaport town in North Carolina at the mouth of the Cape Fear River and international in scope, the reader will be turning pages in this potboiler to the last word. Characters are so vivid you will love them or hate them along the way. . A tip of the hat to the wonderful noir-mystery authors of old. Driven men who plied their trade using typewriters, ribbon and paper. Artists who immersed their readers in worlds of mystery, atmosphere, foreboding and a cracking good read. And who gave this writer an enduring love of reading. Homage is paid within this book to several of them, they include: Raymond Chandler, Ed McBain, John D. MacDonald, Rex Stout, John le Carre, Mickey Spillane, Ernest Hemingway and of course, Dashiell Hammett. . An astute reader may smile at the references to these grand masters of mystery and suspense. All readers will enjoy the experience.