For Jake Thunder, a paralyzed ex-US Air Force special operations commando, everyday life is a battle. A hard-boiled, hard-drinking womanizer on one hand, Jake also tries to learn from the wisdom of his Native American past while trying to revive his dead legs through holistic acupuncture treatments. When a knockout blonde strides into his office and demands he figure out who killed her sister, he doesn't dare refuse - especially after he gets a good view of her legs. But a simple "whodunit" soon becomes a tangled web of deceit, familial backstabbing and black-market baby dealing.

Jon F. Merz lives with his wife and son in Boston, Massachusetts.