Paul Bannerman thought he had finally left the world of contract assassins and spies behind. With the fall of communism and the triumph of democracy, he was ready to forget his bloody past and start a new life as a private citizen. Then he gets an urgent call from Zurich that shatters his false sense of security.

Carla Benedict is Bannerman's most ruthless agent - but she's also a woman in love. And she's just had to eliminate her new lover, a smooth, lethal spy. It doesn't take long for Bannerman to realize that Carla's call will have deadly and far-reaching implications. Meanwhile, in Russia, a retired American police detective and his Swiss bride have been invited on a honeymoon trip that is far less innocent than it seems. Soon they will all become unwitting pawns in an underground civil war involving hard-line Communists, devious reformers, drug smugglers, and a new and brutal Russian mafia. And Bannerman, along with the unlikeliest ally of all, will blast his way out of retirement...for a Matter of Honor.