A desperate plea for help puts Dez Limerick in the path of a skilled and dangerous nemesis and a deadly plot with global ramifications.

Desmond Aloysius Limerick ("Dez" to his friends and close personal enemies) is a man with a shadowy past, certain useful hard-won skills, and, if one digs deep enough, a reputation as a good man to have at your back. Trained as a "gatekeeper"--he can open any door, keep it open as long as necessary, and control who does--and does not--go through. Now retired from his previous life, Dez still tries to keep his skills up to date.

Back in England, Dez gets a short, desperate text from Arabella Satti, an old colleague from his previous life, alerting Dez she's in danger from a mutual enemy. Immediately traveling to New York, he finds that not only is Satti missing, but so are her parents. They've been kidnapped and are being held to assure Satti's compliance. Behind her kidnapping is a sinister figure, an assassin with an international reputation, and skills and instincts that rival, possibly surpass, Dez's own. And while Dez does not know about her, she is well aware of him--and well equipped to handle any attack he initiates. But much more is at stake than one simple kidnapping--at the heart of this is a plot that, as every layer of it is peeled back, grows even more deadly. And the only real obstacle is a retired would-be musician--Desmond "Dez" Aloysius Limerick.