In the feeble light of a London winter, Joe Tiplady walks his dog in the snow. He is not alone. Two men are tracking him, as is a woman with wolf eyes. Soon Joe will find himself caught in a storm of violence and retribution that he does not yet understand.

Around the world, a chain of events is in motion that will make Joe a priceless target. A retired Soviet general hunts for his missing daughter after a series of brutal murders. A ruthless assassin loses something so precious he will do anything to get it back. And in the mountains of Utah, a brilliant ex-CIA chief wrestles with his religion.

In the shadow of them all lies Zoba, strongman ruler of Russia and puppet-master of the world’s darkest operatives. Can Joe save himself from this dangerous web of power and revenge? Where can he run when there’s nowhere left to hide?

Please note: this book contains strong language and scenes of torture.

“Brutally realistic...[Tiplady is] a fresh hero for our times...There are echoes of other loner heroes, including, of course, Jack Reacher, but Tiplady is perhaps a little more nuanced, and a touch more compassionate.” —The Daily Mail

“Rarely is a book so engrossing and pacy that it makes me miss my train stop...The action shifts effortlessly across the globe and between Sweeney’s cast of eerily convincing characters, many based on his experiences as an investigative reporter.” —The Yorkshire Post

John Sweeney is an award-winning writer and broadcaster. As a reporter, first for the Observer and then for the BBC, Sweeney has covered wars and chaos in more than eighty countries and has been undercover to Chechnya, North Korea and Zimbabwe. He has also helped free seven people falsely convicted of killing their babies in landmark legal trials in the UK. Sweeney became a YouTube sensation in 2007 for losing his temper with a senior member of the Church of Scientology. His first novel, Elephant Moon, was published to much acclaim in 2012. His hobby is falling off his bike on the way back from the pub.