James Sullivan survives the war in Vietnam only to come home to find he can't make it in the everyday world. He prefers jungle work to being in a college classroom or corporate office. Luckily, he remembers the phone number of a mysterious military man who opens the door to a clandestine organization known as "Theatre," which was formed to compete against East Germany's Stasi.
But after twenty years with the agency, his partner is brutally murdered. Sully is the one who will take the fall. No longer part of the agency, he contacts a plastic surgeon so he can change his appearance and track down those responsible for his best friend's death.
Sully calls in favors from former associates and then joins forces with a former Green Beret turned private investigator. His mission of vengeance will lead him to twists and turns around every corner as he prepares to take on one of New York City's five crime families in A Watch in the Night.