After the riveting events of Once Dead, Jack "Ripper" Gregory remains host to a homicidal alien bound to his soul. Now Jack has been hired for a suicide mission: journey to South America and rescue an imprisoned shaman. One problem...both the National Security Agency and a gang of neo-fascists are hot on his trail.

Neither group plans to let Jack live.

At stake is the immeasurably powerful Sun Staff, an ancient alien artifact that in the wrong hands will alter the course of human history. With the clock ticking, Jack must find and rescue the shaman before sinister forces get to him first. When Jack comes face-to-face with his equal--a stunningly beautiful NSA agent--he wonders if he can still pull the trigger and save his mission...even if the decision costs him his very soul.

From bestselling author Richard Phillips comes a globe-spanning sci-fi thriller series with a twist...culminating in the cataclysmic events that set the stage for the Rho Agenda.