A quiet, sultry evening on the Tampa waterfront. Sudden chaos as a drive-by shooter mows the panicked crowd. Eight are killed. Among the wounded are Rod Kent, a young realtor visiting Florida on business, and Bruce Mann, paramedic and fire fighter. Before he fell, Bruce got a look at the killer. He's in peril as he slips into a coma. Rod and a nurse, Sharon Reid, discover that the shooting was an assassination in disguise. A federal agency uses the killer, Brad, to erase "enemies of the people." The police are skeptical. But Rod contrives to infiltrate Brad's gang. He hopes to gather evidence that will save Bruce's life, stop the killing, and launch his own career as a true-crime writer. The tension mounts as Rod and Sharon become involved and eventually trapped, in Brad's grim work. The result is a taut thriller, a page-turner to the shocking resolution of this tale of managed mayhem and overkill.