Appearing before the Senate Select Committee on Eastern European crime, Josie Bates testifies passionately about the brutal Albanian blood feud that has sent Hannah into hiding with Billy Zuni, and Archer on a quest to find them. While Senator Patriota, the man sure to be the next president of the United States, promises his patronage, Josie isn't convinced he was even listening—but someone was.

Charging through the crush of bodies, evading security, a frantic man launches himself at Josie. Toppling her to the ground, he pushes something into her hands, puts his lips against her ear, and whispers five words that will send her from the icy winter of Washington, D.C., to the tropical warmth of Hawaii in search of Hannah. What Josie finds is a horrific, long buried truth that will change her life forever—if she stays alive long enough to live it.