Cole Ormond is a former navy SEAL and presently serving as a deputy national security advisor to the current administration. After a dangerous two-week assignment in Taiwan, he is on a two-week leave from duty per the direct order of the president of the United States. While spending time with his family Cole receives a cell phone call from the Boston Police Department. His former SEAL instructor, who was also a close friend, has died. The police are requesting Cole to identify the victim. Cole discovers in Boston that Clay Burkett died from three bullet wounds in the back. He forces the police to take him on as a consultant. The lead detective and his assistant are unhappy being strapped with an amateur. But things take a different turn when their first clues as to the identity of the murderer point to a dangerous former member of the US Army who flunked out of Ranger school. Over a seven-day period Cole and the detectives must use all their skills to avoid a well-trained team of organized crime members lead by the most dangerous man they have ever come up against.