Nelson DeMille was born in New York City in 1943. He grew up on Long Island and graduated from Hofstra University with a degree of Political Science and History. After serving as an infantry officer in Vietnam, where he was decorated three times, DeMille worked as a journalist and short story writer. He wrote his first major novel, By the Rivers of Babylon, in 1978 and has gone on to write many other international bestsellers, with sales of over 55 million copies in 24 languages. He lives on Long Island.

Army Criminal Investigator Paul Brenner was forced into early retirement but now he has been recalled to investigate a murder that took place 30 years before in Vietnam. And he returns to Vietnam and engage in a dangerous battle as he attempts to find justice in a world of staggering corruption.