international adventurer steve dane never should have set foot in italy. witnessing a young woman's kidnapping, he is drawn into the decades-old vendetta behind the crime. hired by the girl's father, racing against time as her life hangs in the balance, dane battles the mafia who want him dead and the police and international agents who want him out of the way. with the help of his lover, nina talikova, dane plunges along a path leading him past a mere kidnapping and into an ever-more complex world of high stakes, ruled by a powerful and mysterious woman known only as the duchess. life, it seems, is getting cheaper than dane could ever imagine and the duchess has put a price on the ultimate weapon that will make it worthless. only he and nina have the power to stop a clock ticking away the life of both the girl and the world. steve dane & nina talikova race around the world delivering justice one bullet at a time.