Arthur Milo, an IRS official with access to detailed personal and financial data, chooses his kidnap victims from his files. Pete Honeycutt is in charge of the case, and Milo taunts him with personal phone calls, eventually threatening his family.

When Ethan's older brother Greg is found dead, the police rule the case a suicide, but Ethan suspects foul play stemming from Greg's recent involvement with a martial arts team called the Scorpions. Ethan is also accomplished at martial arts, and he determines to join the Scorpions as a means of learning what really happened to Greg. - Written by Michelle Sturges