This eighth novel featuring Major Jack Reacher covers an incident from Reacher's past. It's almost 1990, and the Cold War is coming to a close with the imminent fall of the Berlin Wall. On New Year's Eve, a two-star general is found dead of an apparent heart attack in a seedy motel. His briefcase has been stolen, its contents unknown. Soon, more deaths follow. As Reacher desperately attempts to put a lid on the situation, the jaws of a conspiracy begin to close on him.