Follows private investigator Josh Sterling in Said in Secret. After ten years as a CIA operative in China, Josh believes his lover and co-operative, Min, was killed in an explosion. He returns to the United States and opens a private investigation office. Josh gets his first cast for the Fort Worth Police when the murder of a reported high-end call girl, Sharon Chambers, is discovered shot. Josh soon discovers her death may be tied to a Senatorial candidate in a heated race a few months away.

During the investigation, Josh runs foul of the Tormenta Cartel when he guns down three of the gang during an attack on two police officers. When Josh’s name is leaked by the press, the cartel seeks revenge for the death of their comrades. They send their best contract killer, Julio Rojas, to exact their revenge. Several attempts on Josh’s life fail. Alma, Dario Perez’s wife, provides proof of Dario’s crimes to the Mexican authorities. The search for Dario is soon joined by the FBI and DEA when they raid his Colorado hideout. Alma flees to Europe, hoping to raise her children free of the cartel’s influence.

Josh finds evidence identifying who killed Sharon Chambers. As the police move in for the arrest, the shooter and his accomplices are killed. The police notify Josh he has fulfilled his contract, and the case is no longer his. Josh feels the case won’t be solved until he discovers who hired Sharon’s killer. As he prepares for the next phase of the investigation, his former lover from China, Min, arrives to tell him he has a son. A son he will never raise or get to know.