In April 1950, the rusting hulk of a steam locomotive rises from the waters of a Montana lake, revealing the remains of three men who died 44 years before and astonishing all those who look on. In 1906, the American West has been suffering a two-year crime spree: a string of bank robberies committed by one man who murders all witnesses, and then vanishes without a trace. The US government brings in the best man they can find - a no-nonsense detective...

A confrontation between a radical environmentalist group and a Danish cruiser forces Kurt Austin of NUMA's Special Assignment's team, and his colleague Joe Zavala to come to the rescue of a ship full of trapped men. When Austin's own boat blows up and he only barely survives, it seems certain he's next in line to die, but he can't stop now. For the environmental disaster has already begun, and only he and NUMA stand in the way.