Like any good weapon, Sam Abel can't go unused for long. After narrowly escaping death in Germany, he's returned home to the nation's capitol to play a different kind of spy game. Tasked with stealing secrets stateside, Sam must lurk in the shadows once more to obtain valuable information hidden at foreign embassies in D.C. He's not alone. Working closely with him behind the scenes is Cat McAlister, a thief playing the part of Washington D.C. debutante. She's just one of many new, and questionable, faces involved with spy chief Hank Brandt-also known as "the burned man"-and his ever-expanding operation. Though an ocean separates Sam from the theater of war abroad, dangerous enemies trade secrets and resources right under America's nose. After discovering a particularly troubling correspondence from the Spanish Embassy written in code, Sam and Cat must try to uncover information from unlikely places, including the parties of D.C.'s political elite. A mysterious man named Maxwell Kearney will lead them to North Carolina where a precious metal is being refined. Complicating things even more, the FBI has a barely-concealed vendetta against Brandt and his unchecked espionage operatives. Sam will need to figure out the true nature of Kearney, but all the while he'll also have to navigate threats from outside and inside. When no one can be trusted, each move could be his last.