"If at first you don't succeed try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it." W. C. Fields

Home invaders break into Frank Meyer's home, killing the family. Frank had a successful business but before meeting his wife, Cindy, he had been a mercenary. He was part of Joe Pike's group.

Joe is approached by detectives who ask if he had any information about his friend's death. He's informed that the group has broken into six other homes. The other homes have been of drug traffickers and other criminals. Police feel that it is a trend and want to know if Meyer was involved in illegal activity.

When Myers' family was killed, the family nanny, Ana Markovik didn't die immediately and was taken to the hospital. Pike found out and went to the hospital to see if he could question her. When he arrives, Ana's sister Rina, was guarding her sister's room. Rina suspects that Joe was part of the group who tried to kill her sister. When he explains that he is a friend of the family, he learns that Rina and her sister are Serbians.

Since Joe knows Myers well, he knows that Myers wasn't involved in anything criminal and so deduces that it could have been the nanny that they were after.

Joe asks his partner, Elvis Cole, to research more background about Ana and her sister Rina.

With Elvis' help Joe learns that Rina is Karina Markov and has a history she is attempting to hide.

When Rina's sister takes a turn for the worse, Rina admits to Pike that she is aware of who killed her sister. The answer is totally unexpected and leads Joe and his partner down a trail that is filled with danger and involves the Unites States bureau of Alcohol and Firearms.

This story is a wonderful reading experience. Robert Crais is one of the better thriller writers around and Joe Pike is a heroic character that the reader can relate to and dream of his adventures as if they were the reader's own. The pacing is well done right up to the end which seemed to bring things together a little too conveniently.