A terrorist attack destroys the European Union headquarters in Strasbourg, France, killing all of the delegates and temporarily panicking the EU stock markets. While the market tailspin causes horrendous losses for some, Abraxas, a mysterious investment company, makes off with astronomical profits and this isn't the first time they've profited from a terrorist attack. After a U.S. investment banker and an undercover FBI agent venture into the Darknet to investigate, both are brutally murdered. The FBI enlists the skills of Cailan Bane, expert hacker, video game designer, and ex-Force Recon Marine sniper, whose probing hints at a connection between the murders, Abraxas, and a far more insidious parent organization. Working with Mirlinda Dzafer, a Professor of International Business, bar owner, and a deadly assassin, he dives deep into the Darknet where they discover a Machiavellian organization whose plans are considerably more devious than just making prescient market moves. Their investigation triggers the attentions of a uniquely talented group of killers who are nothing if not persistent in their attempts to kill Cailan, Mirlinda, and anyone connected with the investigation, and when a menacing woman starts shadowing Cailan, it's cause for concern. But rather than try to kill him, she saves his life. Her revelations about herself and Abraxas are like something out of a science fiction nightmare, but nothing is as shocking as Mirlinda's discovery of the man behind the curtain, the founder of Abraxas. The company's founder may have a business plan from hell, but he's never encountered the likes of Cailan Bane and Mirlinda Dzafer, alias the Death Whisperer and the assassin Sasha, and he will learn the hard way to color them deadly.
