As an Army Ranger, Steve Madison saw action from Iraq to Central America, from Somalia to Kosovo. But with his discharge from military service, he thought he'd seen the last of violence, bloodshed and sudden death. He was wrong. As an "industrial consultant" to the music industry, Madison specializes in extricating pop stars from scandals that threaten to destroy multi-million-dollar careers. Johnny Willow is the hottest superstar of his generation; a young, gifted, blind musical genius whose addictions drove him into rehab and an extended hiatus at the height of his career. Now Johnny is back, clean and sober, with a new CD debuting at number one on the charts and a sold-out concert beginning a world tour. But one rainy night in St. Louis, Johnny's past returns with a vengeance and everything is threatened in a twisty maze of ghetto gang bangers, the Mafia, the DEA, a missing shipment of cocaine, kidnapping . . . and murder. That's where Steve Madison comes in.

Also includes two short stories, "A Hit for the New Age," and "The Death Blues."

Stephen Mertz lives in the southwestern United States.