Harlan Coben's novel Deal Breaker centers around Manhattan sports agent Myron Bolitar and his newest high-profile client, quarterback Christian Steele. Steele, fresh out of Reston University, stands to become the highest paid rookie in NFL history and is looking to sign a lucrative deal with the Titans, a New York City team. Negotiations are not going well, however, as Otto Burke, owner of the Titans, thinks the salary demand is too high. Christian Steele is new to the world of professional athletics, and he looks to Myron for guidance.

Several months ago, Christian Steele's college sweetheart, a beautiful girl named Kathy Culver, disappeared from the Reston University campus after being seen at a party. Christian Steele loved Kathy Culver, or so he claims. One day, Christian Steele receives a mysterious manila envelope containing information which leads Steele to believe Kathy may still be alive.

Tragically, medical examiner Adam Culver, Kathy's father, is murdered during what the police are calling a botched burglary attempt.

When Kathy's older sister Jessica, a successful novelist, returns to New York to teach at NYU for a semester, Myron Bolitar's world is turned upside down. Jessica, believing that her sister's disappearance and her father's murder are somehow connected, convinces Myron to help her investigate the unusual happenings.

Another of Myron's star clients, New York Jets player Ricky Lane, knows something about what happened to Kathy Culver the night she went missing but he refuses to discuss it with anyone. And basketball star Chaz Landreaux, who Myron has just taken on as a client, is up to his neck in trouble with Herman and Frank Ache, two brothers with ties to organized crime in New York City.

Myron Bolitar, for his part, is not what one would call a typical sports agent. First of all, he lives with his parents. Myron is, however, loyal to his two closest friends, Win and Esperanza. His unofficial partner and former college roommate, the very upper-crust Win Lockwood has a penchant for dispensing justice to those who refuse to listen to reason. Myron's secretary, Esperanza Diaz is a law student who was once a professional wrestler.

When other, seemingly unrelated, characters begin receiving manila envelopes similar to the one delivered to Christian Steele, the case becomes a tangled web of secrets and lies. At the center of all the confusion however, is Myron's hope that he and Jessica Culver can pick up where they left off four years ago.

In this first novel featuring Myron Bolitar and his unusual associates, no one is what they seem, particularly, Bolitar.