yrell Hawthorne was a naval intelligence officer -- one of the best -- until the rain-swept night in Amsterdam when his wife was murdered, an innocent victim of the games spies play. Now hes called out of retirement for one last assignment. For Hawthorne is the only man alive who can track down the worlds most dangerous terrorist. Amaya Bajaratt is beautiful, elusive, and deadly -- and she has set in motion a chilling conspiracy that a desperate government cannot stop. With his life and the life of the president hanging in the balance, Hawthorne must follow Bajaratts serpentine trail, a path of seduction, betrayal, and the looming threat of death. Racing from a millionaire recluses fortress to the social whirl of Palm Beach, from the Oval Office to treacherous Caribbean waters, Hawthorne will uncover a sinister network of well-placed men and women who exist to help this consummate killer -- and the shattering truth behind the Scorpio Illusion.