Book excerpt: California homicide detective Vince Magliore returns to his hometown of Hull, Massachusetts for some rest and relaxation. He's on medical leave for wounds sustained in a shootout with a deranged LA cop intent on killing other cops as payback for having been fired. Magliore, hooked on prescription painkillers, is dealing with personal demons as well as physical pain. During the takedown of the rogue cop, he committed an act contrary to his oath of honor as a law enforcement officer. His hopes for a quiet thoughtful recuperation in his sleepy childhood hometown are dashed when he becomes embroiled in a blackmail scheme, child abuse, the murder of two former classmates and an international human trafficking conspiracy which places him in the crosshairs of ruthless cartel thugs. The odyssey of blackmail and murder begins with the discovery of the body of a Roman Catholic priest whose reckless behavior yields many suspects from irate boyfriends and husbands to parents who suspect he may have molested their children. Bodies fall as the killers are discovered and an unexpected individual exacts revenge.