In Cuba, a young man meets a horrible fate. In Philadelphia, after a deskbound career as a military intelligence analyst, Damian Ritter is living quietly in retirement. He enjoys walks and swimming, an amateur interest in history, volunteer work, and breaks with his friends, Adam and Mary Weston. His untroubled life is shattered when someone tries to kill him. He flees into north central Pennsylvania where he meets with a shadowy figure from his past and a beautiful young woman who recruit him into a plan to unmask a traitor. Ritter is soon matching his everyman wits with killers intent on ending his life, but his worst opponents will be a confrontation with himself and a sad, shocking discovery.