A young girl's life is torn apart when her parents are killed in the NATO bombing of Belgrade, Serbia, during the 1999 Kosovo War. An embittered Katarina Petrovic grows up with a hatred for Americans and becomes a willing candidate for special training by Russian agents.

Alex Baker commanded an Air Force Office of Special Investigations unit until an incident forced him to resign his military commission. Still in his thirties, he finds a new career as the owner of a Manhattan-based travel agency specializing in tour packages. When his father is assassinated, Alex is promised to be kept in the loop regarding the investigation. The OSI, FBI, and CIA begin a global hunt for a female assassin who appears to be targeting American pilots involved in the Belgrade bombing.

Alex is suddenly thrust into the middle of the investigation when events suggest he could also be on the assassin's kill list. Is the woman making threatening phone calls the one who murdered his father? Or is she the alluring Dee Norton he meets supposedly by chance? Piece by piece, the mystery is unraveled, culminating in a thrilling conclusion on the island of Key West.