"Once a month they came in the mail. As regular as clockwork. Addressed to Josh Redmont. Issued by something called "United States Agent." Each check for the exact same amount: $1000. At first, Josh tried to find out if some mistake had been made. After a while, he simply accepted that for unknowable reasons some obscure, untraceable branch of the U.S. government was paying him $1000 a month." "A poor temp when the checks first appeared seven years ago, Josh has now become successful in his field, with a wife and child, a nice Upper West Side apartment, a summer rental on Fire Island - so the checks don't mean that much anymore. That is, until a smiling stranger approaches Josh with words that chill him to the spine: "I'm from United States Agent. You are now active."" Josh has been paid for a job that he now must do... a job that will turn out to be a growing horror for him, for his family, and possibly for all of us.

Genre: Mystery