Burke has gone "missing-and-presumed" from his native New York City, following a failed assassination attempt. The shadowy man-for-hire is scratching out an existence in the Pacific Northwest, doing what he calls "violence for money," and waiting to see if it is safe to return. When Gem, the professional border-crosser who calls herself his wife, brings him a job tracking down a runaway teenager, Burke enters a long, dark tunnel of lies?lined with many more games than players. He takes to the unfamiliar streets, quickly and brutally establishing a presence. The whisper-stream carries him to a fanatical group of criminal samaritans dedicated to supplying adequate drugs for those suffering from chronic pain. Forced into a dangerous alliance, Burke walks the wire between betrayals, risking it all for a girl he has never met. The State-raised outlaw knows better than most that there are many kinds of pain. And many ways to "manage" it.