Mitch Rapp has been a covert operative for the CIA since he was twenty-two years of age. He became famous for leading a team of commandos into Iraq. He is in his mid-thirties and has just married NBC While House correspondent Anna Reilly. He is marked by every terrorist in the world and worries about Anna's safety. Because of the publicity he received during Irene Kennedy's confirmation hearings, he has a new job as the special assistant to the director of Central Intelligence on counter terrorism. He is also supposed to study the counter terrorism capabilities of the nation and develop a plan to streamline operations and improve defenses. He had been a member of the elite Orion Team that had been formed by Stansfield Turner.