nIn the latest in this New York Times best-selling series, Evan Smoak takes on his most complex mission yet--one where he has to not only protect but also avenge, and find a way to balance vengeance with mercy. n nOnce a black ops assassin for the government known as Orphan X, Evan Smoak broke with the program and went deep underground, using his operational rules and skills to help the truly desperate with nowhere else to turn. n nWhen Luke Devine, one of the most powerful men in the world has a psychological crisis, Evan flies to the East Coast to meet Luke. While there, he learns of a young woman who was kidnapped off the New York City subway, clearly in danger and in need of aid. With no name and few clues, Evan and his team track down the missing woman, who was assaulted and abandoned.

Evan offers his help--and sets out tracking down the young men responsible. But the woman insists that Evan abandon his usual methods--no vengeance and, in particular, no killing. Which will prove no easy feat given the mounting incoming threats from all sides.

In a mission that takes Evan from coast to coast, from the poorest corners of society to the richest, Orphan X must figure out a way to protect the innocent, avenge the victimized, and balance justice, with a measure of mercy.n