The job to be completed before Jack can open this new chapter of his life is the assassination of Mark Bierman, the former governor of New York. Bierman is about to be appointed attorney general of the United States, and the organization feels that his anticrime agenda will interfere with business. Jack is given simple instructions—work alone, and make the assassination look like an accident.

Before Jack can complete the hit, two problems get in his way. As he closes in on the former governor, Jack discovers he harbors a fondness and respect for the man. He also comes to the sobering realization that by assassinating the governor, he is the only living witness to the murder—and will need to be removed by the mob.