Nate & Clare

Nate knelt beside the dead girl. This wasn't his first homicide, it wasn't even the first dead prostitute he'd investigated. It wasn't the first strangling death he'd been assigned to. But this one bothered him. Maybe it was her youth; she appeared to be in her early twenties. Maybe it was her looks, as death had yet to rob her of her beauty. Maybe she reminded him of his own daughter, Lizzie, who was only a few years younger. Maybe it was something else entirely.

There was no doubt the man was dead. A bullet through the head will do that. But, who was dead? The man had no identification, no known address, no Social Security information could be found, and the fingerprint search came up empty. Detective Nate Burns, Albuquerque Police Department, knew two things. The man was dead and he was blood type O+. The most common type of blood in the country.

The murder was brutal. The scene resembled a slaughterhouse. "We need Nate Burns," Jack Mill said and set about getting the medically retired detective to Vegas. Such a simple request will lead Nate not only on a manhunt across the country but also back in time 30 years, where he will struggle to understand the implications of the Cold War.

Nate, an Albuquerque, NM, homicide detective struggles to balance his professional life with his personal life. Clare, his smart, intelligent, and pretty wife struggles to put up with him.