Growing up, Skinner wasn't like other boys. Appearing to have no emotions, he seemed to be powered by reason alone, a robot that could be programmed to do whatever its master wanted. No surprise that as an adult he didn't seem to fit it. Until he came to the attention of the CIA, and they realized they had stumbled across the perfect assassin. His speciality: protecting human 'assets'. His method: ensuring that the price a rival agency paid for acquiring the asset always outweighed the asset's worth. In other words, he killed everybody involved, and then some more, just to make the point.



But now Skinner has been tasked with a new mission. A mission that will place him at the heart of a complex and deadly conspiracy. The signs are that it is a suicide mission even for an operative with his off-the-chart skillset, making Skinner wonder if he has become too good at his job, and his employers are not the only ones who would like to see him terminated.



For the first time, Skinner has to decide whose side he's really on. And if the price of his own survival is worth paying.