The saga of John Livingston Harvard continues as he recovers from the wounds inflicted upon him by the Coeptus Guild thugs. Physically, he's back to normal, better than normal actually, pushing his physical training to the limits as he struggles with his failure to save Emily and come to grips with the moral conundrum left him by Gregory Harris. Is there really no difference between two men who kill, regardless of their reasons? Are they really cut from the same cloth? He finds that the only way he can sleep is to train until he is exhausted and when he's not pushing himself, he is at the firing range, always thinking of the next time. Slowly, day by day, John, much to the dismay of Sue, the woman who is living with him as he recovers, is transforming himself into a lethal killing machine. Whether he's ready or not doesn't really matter as his best friend, Chief Nick Giovanni, approaches him with his own problem. Two bodies have been discovered and though they were far apart, Nick feels that they may be related... and they may involve the Guild. Unfortunately both men have first hand knowledge of how the deadly group has a history of placing their own members into police departments and government. It's a matter of trust and if the Guild is involved, it almost certainly will involve John and Nick. Events move quickly, with their worst fears coming to fruition. John suddenly finds that he has little time to put the Twisted Pieces of the puzzle together as he realizes that all that are dear to him are in mortal peril.