Rave reviews greeted the debut of undercover Baltimore County narcotics cop Luther Ewing. The edgy black-Vietnamese ex-Special Forces soldier is trying hard to chill, and he and his huge partner Ice Box are staying away from anything more dangerous than busting teenagers peddling Ecstasy in the malls. But one night someone busts a cap on Luther in his own peaceful suburban parking lot - someone who's careful not to kill him. Who? Why? And what's the message? Could it have anything to do with Luther's trying to put the bite on the source of an influx of crystal meth - crank - cooked up by a bunch of rednecks and bikers in trailers hidden in the woods?

Next, brash, sexy DEA agent Francesca Russo elbows her way into Luther's life, and into a joint operation with Luther as her partner. When the takedown happens, it's suspiciously easy.

Then Russo puts the bite on Ewing. She's taking over the crank business - from the inside - and she wants Ewing on her team. There's only one thing she hasn't bargained for. Luther's a clean cop, and no amount of money will change that. Ewing's stark choice: go rogue and clean up Russo and her team himself? Or call in the Feds on one of their own?