Jack Ryan, Jr is out to avenge the murder of an old friend, but the vein of evil he's tapped into may run too deep for him to handle in the latest electric entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series. While on vacation in Barcelona, Jack Ryan, Jr. is surprised to run into an old friend at a small café. A first, Renee Moore seems surprised to see Jack, but then she just seems irritated and distracted. After making plans to meet later, Jack leaves only to miss the opportunity to ever speak to Renee again as the café is destroyed minutes later by a suicide bomber. A desperate Jack plunges back into the ruins to save his friend, but it's too late. As she dies in his arms, she utters one word, 'Sammler.' When the police show up they are initially suspicious of Jack until they are called off by a member of the Spanish Intelligence Service.