In the ancient city of Arklanden, alliances are made between police, politicians and the mob. The Organization’s tentacles reach out, touching every realm of the underworld—gambling, drug trafficking and prostitution. When alliances can’t be forged, they resort to bribery, extortion and murder. None can escape their grasp, not the mayor and especially not the defenseless Ericka Bricklyn. The authorities presume she’s just another lost prostitute, but Karl, a marine in Afghanistan, believes otherwise. So he returns to Arklanden and begins his own investigation of a murder that’s taken place, talking to the working girls and canvassing the old stomping grounds.

Karl takes a part-time job as a bouncer at The Purple Navel, a strip club, listening for talk of drug dealers, and there he meets the street tough and book smart Isabella Zlatanov. An orphan from the steps of Bulgaria, Isabella has made her way to America, drawn to the big city for its employment and educational opportunities.

Isabella watches Karl closely. There is something about him that intrigues her and she asks him to be her personal bodyguard. He stumbles onto a lead at The Rio Diablo. The bartender has seen Ericka with another man, Garth Dooling. Garth is a playboy, always out with beautiful women on his arm. Unbeknownst to the bartender, Dooling is more than just a playboy. It was Dooling who ensnared Ericka and got her hooked on drugs.

Karl and Isabella grow closer. As he looks after her at the strip club, she flirts with him, making it difficult to stay focused on his mission. One evening he walks Isabella to her car and they plan a dinner date. As he waves goodnight to her, two police in plain clothes take him down. They find his concealed handgun and take him to see the Chief of Police, the DA and Doc Mallace. They rough him up and finally make him an offer—either work for them or die. The assignment is a hit job.

Karl avoids Isabella, healing from the beating and wrestling with his feelings for her. When the assignment goes down, he discovers a horrible reality. He wants to see Isabella and tell her the truth but he fears for her safety. When he finally goes to her, she is furious until she notices the bruising on his face and the wound on his neck. He suspects it was law enforcement that set him up. He tells her about the assignment, and for all he knows, with the GPS chip in his back, they could be watching them at that very moment. He cries to her. His soul is corrupt. His heart is lost. She should forget she ever met him…