A genetic engineering scientist in Colorado goes missing, and former investigative reporter Gus O'Malley is hired to find him. But what starts as an easy case turns serpentine and deadly when a genetically-enhanced super-assassin tracks down the brilliant young scientist in New Zealand. Gus is there, but he is powerless to stop what happens next. To protect his family and catch the assassin, Gus and his allies must seek the death within life—the second skin we all wear.