"They've taken our son, Marion." In all his life, no matter who he was with, Marion "Doc" Ford had been passionately, irresponsibly in love with only one woman. Her name was Pilar, and she was married to a thuggish politico named Balserio in a country where Ford was working undercover. When Ford had to run, it was with a bounty on his head and, unknown to him then, a legacy: Pilar was pregnant.

Now, many years later, out of power and consumed with the desire for revenge, Balserio has kidnapped the boy and taken him to his new home base in Florida. What makes it worse is the man he has used: a local legend named Prax, his face a network of burns, whose own favorite instrument of amusement is the lighted match. Ford hoped he'd left his violent past behind him long ago, but he knows he has no choice. The man has his son. And unless Ford can track them down quickly, anything could happen, even worse than he can imagine. If that's possible...