'No matter how big and fast and strong you are, how heavily armed or well trained, there's always going to be someone out there who is bigger, faster, or stronger. Always.'

Violence is a tool to Aud Torvingen, a tool that can be taught and employed with precision. But Aud isn't prepared for the deadly consequences when she begins teaching a self-defence class in Atlanta.

Nor is she prepared for what awaits her on a business trip to Seattle. While investigating what appears to be a case of fraud on a movie set, she unearths a plot to sabotage the production.

Aud is left reeling from the repercussions of Atlanta as powerful forces move against her in Seattle, forcing her to confront the prospect that she may need others to survive.