Bill Gant and Alan Pulis, both retired Alaska State Troopers are halibut fishing when they find a body floating in the rip at the center of Cook Inlet. They discover the victim, wearing a life preserver, has been shot in the back. Captain Rollin Caswell of the Alaska State Troopers recruits the retired men to investigate the case on a contract basis. They find the victim is a local banker and suspect the killing was a mob hit. A local waitress had been dating the banker and is found to be on the list of hit men. The investigation leads the investigators to New Jersey and to an organized crime boss, causing them to rely on the FBI and U.S. Marshals to assist in the investigation. From local intrigue to international banking the story winds leaving death and fear in its wake.