Nick McCarty comes out of retirement at the urging of his partner, Gus Nason. The wheels fall off the McCarty assassin wagon when after a difficult hit overseas, he looks into a teacher’s problematic family troubles at the urging of his step-daughter, Jean. In no time at all, the bodies are piling up, and the tendrils threatening both Nick’s family, along with his bestselling author status spread at record speed. A stone-cold killer with family and friends is a dangerous business. When bad people threaten Nick’s Pacific Grove home, it becomes a deadly business. Nick’s up to the mark, with his family and friends holding on tight for yet another McCarty journey into darkness.