Walid Hasan has one aim in life: to make as many Americans as possible pay for the bombing of his home, and the killing of his family. James Grey, of Grey Capital, knows how to make money, but he wants more. One way is to make a massive short on a stock that will sustain a severe price drop. One way to make the price drop is to blow up major assets of the company. Grey plus Hasan is a marriage made in hell. Each need the other; Hasan to get things done, Grey to provide the means. The means involve the acquisition of an enormous number of robotic war machines, designed for the US Army. John Maxwell wants a quieter life than that of providing security for the wealthy at a time when even law and order is being privatized. However, the experience of his company is needed to help counter the war machines, and soon he and a small team are all that stand between order and the total collapse of society.