"I'm descended from one of the generals that fought for the South," Kevin said. "My family is proud of if. My distant cousins still own the plantation that made our family rich. A few years ago, they tore down the slave quarters to build a rose garden. They hold weddings and Daughters of the Confederacy meetings there now."

Rushing cars filled the silence that stretched between them.

"We all come from messed up places, one way or another," Kevin said. "You and I ran. We made something better of ourselves."

Navy wondered if she dared say it. "Would you be telling me that if I had never left?"

"I deal in practicalities," Kevin said. "If your friend is willing to help us, she can have a hotel room for as long as she needs. If she's not, we let the system lean on her."

"That's pretty harsh."

"You can't rescue someone who doesn't want to be rescued. I thought you had learned that lesson already."

In Amsterdam, Navy Trent fought terrorists. In Romania, she infiltrated an organized crime ring. In North Korea, she collected intelligence from a military base. But she's never had to fight a friend before. In a country she thought she knew. Her own. A dangerous web of conspiracy theories and racist death threats has stretched over Des Moines, IA. Navy's team must trace the lines of the conspiracy without getting caught themselves. And then survive what the terrorists are planning.