A scientist is murdered a mile beneath the earth, his secret laboratory exposed. A formula capable of forcing a shift of power among the world's largest nations is missing and its rightful owner wants it back. After staying hidden for months, Jackson Quick is pulled back into the darkness he despises. Forced to face his demons and align himself with the very people who betrayed him, he agrees to hunt for the formula.

Racing against time and an evil black-market czar, Quick crosses the globe in search of a mathematical equation so valuable that nations and terrorists will pay whatever the cost to control it. From the scientist's lab in South Dakota, to London, Chernobyl, Ukraine and Germany, Quick uses his guile and good luck to outwit the competition at every turn. Or so he thinks. In the end, is his freedom worth the price he'll pay to earn it? Or is he better off letting the formula fall where it may.