Iraq War combat veteran-turned-detective Moe Flynn, who has the improbable real name of Matthew Oliver Emmett Timothy Ambrose Flynn, must overcome emotional scars left over from his war experiences to take on the biggest case so far in his new career as a private eye. The story begins as some children are enjoying an outing at a river beach. Their pleasure quickly turns to tragedy, however, when they suffer severe burns from caustic chemicals that have leaked from an unknown source into Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River. A New Jersey oil and gas refinery is accused by state authorities of being the source of the leaked chemicals, so the refinery hires Moe to track down the real source of the leaking chemicals, and to find the persons responsible for the contamination. The detective must dig into old records and interview potential suspects from many years in the past in order to unravel the complex history of the refinery's dealings with those who were contracted to rid the refinery of its caustic waste products. As he gets closer to digging out the truth, however, his investigations are noticed by the real culprits in the crime. As a result, Moe is made to confront his old combat demons, and is forced to decide whether "fight or flight" is in his best interest. Making his decision even more complex is his relationship with beautiful Diane, who was a client in an earlier case. Moe has fallen in love with his former client, and the only thing keeping the couple from making a lasting commitment is Diane's uncertainty about Moe's war-induced nightmares. Moe had already killed once before to protect Diane, and now she fears that as this case escalates into extremely dangerous-even fatal-territory, their history may have to repeat itself. As Moe's investigation reaches its exciting and action-packed climax, Moe discovers that he can, indeed, put the past behind him-solve the case, and win the heart of the woman he loves.