Al Holt

This story of espionage and counter-espionage is based on the novel by Ian Adams. Suspicious circumstances surrounded the mysterious death of a Canadian diplomat. At the height of The Cold War in October 1964, John Watkins, Canada's former ambassador to Moscow and a close friend of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, is kidnapped and held in a hotel for questioning by the RCMP at the urging of the CIA. Several days into the interrogation he died. The official obituary claimed that he suffered a heart attack in the company of friends during a farewell supper celebrating his illustrious career.

When the body of a man is found completely destroyed in the swamps in Louisiana, the medical investigator Sam Rivers is assigned to investigate the murder. He travels with the biologist Mary Callahan to the location where the victim lived in a floating house and he meets his family and friends. They find that Chinese snake-heads genetically engineered that belong to a wealthy hunter are attacking and killing the locals. While the group fights to survive, the hunter Jeff arrives with his team to hunt the predators.

A serial murderer of teenage girls is loose, and working the case are a possibly corrupt detective Lou Miles a probably corrupt chief inspector Brodsky and his "favorite snitch." Dark personal histories and current politics mix to get the ambitious DA and her investigator involved.