Returning to Tokyo in 1982 after a decade of mercenary work in the Philippines, a young John Rain learns that the killing business is now controlled by Victor, a half-Russian, half-Japanese sociopath who has ruthlessly eliminated all potential challengers. Victor gives Rain a choice: kill a government minister or die a grisly death. But the best route to the minister is through his gorgeous Italian wife, Maria, a route that puts Rain on a collision course not only with Victor but with the shadowy forces behind the Russian’s rise to dominance—and the longings of Rain’s own conflicted heart.
It’s a battle between kingpin and newcomer, master and apprentice, a zero-sum contest that can only end with one man dead and the other the world’s foremost assassin.
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“Author Barry Eisler serves as his own narrator for his fascinating novel about a professional assassin who is called upon to stop another assassin from killing a friend. But the hero, John Rain, soon learns that his target, a Russian–Japanese psychopath named Victor, is the most evil and formidable opponent he has ever faced. Eisler performs the work perfectly, right down to the Russian, Japanese, and Italian accents…Rain is an unapologetic killer, but he has a sense of justice that separates him from his prey. Winner of the AudioFIle Earphones Award.”
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AudioFile