CAMERON SPENCER, a hard-nosed, no-nonsense investigative reporter, is sent to the site of a gruesome murder, and is told to get the 'dirt' on Grant Fletcher, a man Spencer's editor believes has long been operating on the far side of the law.A simple assignment, right?Spencer thinks so, until, within moments of arriving at the crime scene, he is drawn into a complicated web of intrigue, intimidation, conspiracy, murder, and corruption in high places.His nerve and resolve are pushed to their limits, and beyond, as he faces one attack after another. How much can one man be expected to give, he asks himself. Is finding Ben Osborn's killer, and bringing the 'Machine' to its knees worth the personal cost? Which is more important, his honor and duty to his profession, or his love for a man, who causes his heart to race-the same man who who could very well be the murderer he is searching for.Cameron Spencer finds himself walking a knife's edge, engaged in a battle to outsmart those who will stop at nothing to see him fail, as he assembles clues to help him name Ben Osborn's killers, discover who 'she' is, and decipher the mystery of the black stick.