The following version of the book was used to create this study guide: Carr, Jack. The Terminal List. Simon and Schuster, New York, NY, 10011, 2018. Kindle AZW file.

James Reece feels a huge responsibility for the men under his command as a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan. This is why he questions the intelligence that leads the group into an ambush. Reece and one other SEAL – a man nicknamed Boozer – are the only members of the team to survive the attack that leaves more than 60 dead. Reece faces harsh interrogations before being allowed to return to the United States. Before he even has time to turn in his gear, Reece learns that police are at Boozer's apartment. He arrives to discover that Boozer has been murdered. The scene has been set to look like a suicide. An officer sends Reece to the Naval hospital to ensure he is emotionally fit to go home. When Reece finally arrives home hours later, he finds police there. A gang from Tijuana hit the house killing Reece's pregnant wife Lauren and young daughter Lucy.

Before leaving Afghanistan, a doctor identified a tumor on Reece's brain. The diagnosis becomes highly suspicious because it is a rare kind of tumor that the doctor also found in two of Reece's men. When Reece schedules a follow-up appointment with the doctor's California-based clinic, he learns that doctor has also been killed. Though in the throes of grief, Reece begins to question the situation and uncovers a conspiracy. He trusts very few people as he begins to work with Katie Buranek, an investigative journalist who believes Reece's story. Reece calls in some favors as he delves deeper into the conspiracy. His best friend Ben provides Reece with intelligence from the military, a wealthy businessman named Marco helps Reece target the gang that killed Lauren and Lucy, and a former Army pilot flies Reece around the country in his quest for revenge.

Utilizing the skills he has honed during his years in the military, Reece uncovers a project involving an array of businessmen, politicians, and military officials. The group has control of a drug thought to prevent PTSD, but they have cut every corner possible in an effort to get the drug functional, including injecting all of Reece's unit with the drug. This is why Reece and others developed brain tumors. The good news is that the process has resulted in a drug that actually works without the negative side effects. The bad news is that Reece has a list of names and plans to kill everyone involved.

Reece feels the need to rush because the tumor will kill him soon. He completes his quest by killing off the final three people involved – including his best friend, Ben. He hands over everything he has gathered to Katie who begins a series of stories revealing the level of corruption involved. As official investigations begin, Reece sets out on a sailboat, planning to cross the Atlantic Ocean while he waits for death. Meanwhile, one of the items collected as evidence over the course of the investigations is Reece's cell phone. No one hears the message from the clinic with the results of the biopsy on Reece's brain tumor, meaning Reece does not know that the tumor is not fatal.