Undercover Conservation Officer Daniel North returns from a fishing trip to testify in the trial of a man smuggling endangered gyrfalcons at $100,000 a bird to royal Saudi falconers. In his house, Daniel finds his mentor and hero, Bruce Manley of Montana, savagely murdered. Released on bail that same weekend, the gyrfalcon dealer flees for Asia, the continent Daniel has vowed never to visit. Embittered at the loss of his friend and at the failure of the justice system to get serious about the multi-billion-dollar endangered species trade, Daniel shucks his office job and his prejudice to give chase. His harrowing trail through Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Singapore leads to a bloody climax of self-discovery.