A mild mannered CIA researcher, paid to read books, returns from lunch to find all of his co-workers assassinated. "Condor" must find out who did this and get in from the cold before the hitmen get him.

Omens and concepts of good vs. evil have no place in Maggie O'Connor's well-ordered, practical universe...

France 1944: during an aerial bombardment, two boys are separated from their parents; the older one helps the younger. Jump ahead to contemporary Manhattan where chief financial officer Jimmy Stevens punishes his company's murderous practices in Third World countries by setting up its stock release to fail. He knows they'll kill him in retaliation; he asks for two weeks. By telephone, using a voice disguising device, he hires a private detective, Frank Turlotte, to watch ... Jimmy. What's going on? Jimmy goes to the park where he reads a book and talks to children; he visits his aged mother. Frank observes it all. The two-week deadline approaches. What's Jimmy's game?