Prologue: After committing several unauthorized assassinations, DEA agent Rico Caraballo leaves the Agency and retreats to a mission in Columbia's back country. Rico returns to the mission after an absence and finds the resident Priest and a Sister murdered. Colombian Army troops arrive at the Mission accompanied by Mike Stilwell, DEA liaison with the unit. Mike recognizes Rico as a former agent and friend. Angered by the unprovoked murders, Rico agrees to consider returning to the Agency. Several days after Mike and the troops leave, Rico learns that renegades searching for him committed the murders. It becomes apparent that Father Ramon died protecting Rico. Rico discovers that the man who wants him dead is Jaime Morales, the Jefe of a large Columbian criminal enterprise, the same Jaime Morales who was badly disfigured by a bomb Rico planted. Morales' purchase of The Mayan Princess from a defunct cruise line gets the attention of the DEA, and the nature of the vessel's renovation coupled with an upsurge in Morales' foreign contacts alerts the CIA. The vessel is preparing for its maiden voyage when Rico and Mike meet with Flory Gomez who arranges Rico's reinstatement in time for an assignment to uncover the ship's mission. At Cartegena, Rico and Flory board as passengers, and Mike as a crew member. Morales joins the maiden voyage and learns from his cousin Julio Castano that Rico could be the person who planted the bomb that disfigured him. He invites Rico and Flory to dinner. It's an invitation that results in a series of confrontations between the agents and Morales' cohorts protecting their interests, even after disavowing their insane leader who forces upon them a premature anddeadly conclusion to the voyage.

Sighting my destination, a glitzy watering hole directly across the steaming boulevard from The Cavern, I stepped from the curb onto the hot asphalt and headed for the concrete center island. Dodging, stopping, vaulting--once more the invincible Florida State wideout-I reached my midstream destination breathless and unscathed. In my wake, I'd left several stalled vehicles and a few frustrated motorists chewing their lips and signaling their chagrin with the traditional stiff middle-fingered salutation. Unabashed, I acknowledged their display of plebian discourtesy by smiling and lifting both arms above my head and offering a double-barreled, Nixon-style response in kind. Flushed with success, purposefully and smugly certain of my invincibility, I set out again and managed to cross the first of the five remaining lanes without incident. I did pause momentarily to offer a congratulatory smile to the lovely driver of a BMW who managed a squealing stop with her bumper vibrating against my leg. It was almost sensual. Undaunted by the close call, I continued on giving the white-faced driver a quick wave of appreciation . Then my luck ran out. The brief pause propped up against the BMW's bumper broke my rhythm and subsequently caused me to stumble into the path of an extended-cab pickup, a Dodge Ram I believe. I don't remember the impact, just a blinding light and a mind-numbing explosion. That's when my unanticipated sojourn in the circle of death-the first circle--began.

Sixteen, innocent, and beautiful, April Perry is gang raped by five hoodlums. To shield her from publicity, her wealthy father sends her to Boston to complete her education. She returns to Tampa eight years later with a law degree and joins the District Attorney's staff. During her absence, the five rapists have been paroled and are back on the streets. The savage theft of April's innocence has left her psychologically damaged, ashamed of her body and maintaining a paranoid distrust of all men. Shortly after April's return, a killer using the name of Azrael, the Angel of Death, undertakes the systematic elimination of the rapists. During her absence, April's high school sweetheart Brad "Rock" Paxton has become a Detective Intern and is partnered with Lt. Luis Agosto, the acting head of Homicide. They are faced with the prospect that the girl that Rock loved as a youth-still loves-may be the killer, Azrael. When all of the rapists are dead except Josh Sampson--the leader of the gang--Azrael invites a select group to participate in his Josh's execution. Among those invited are Rock and his partner. They are helpless to deter the gruesome outcome as Azrael is unmasked.

Sighting my destination, a glitzy watering hole directly across the steaming boulevard from The Cavern, I stepped from the curb onto the hot asphalt and headed for the concrete center island. Dodging, stopping, vaulting--once more the invincible Florida State wideout-I reached my midstream destination breathless and unscathed. In my wake, I'd left several stalled vehicles and a few frustrated motorists chewing their lips and signaling their chagrin with the traditional stiff middle-fingered salutation. Unabashed, I acknowledged their display of plebian discourtesy by smiling and lifting both arms above my head and offering a double-barreled, Nixon-style response in kind. Flushed with success, purposefully and smugly certain of my invincibility, I set out again and managed to cross the first of the five remaining lanes without incident. I did pause momentarily to offer a congratulatory smile to the lovely driver of a BMW who managed a squealing stop with her bumper vibrating against my leg. It was almost sensual. Undaunted by the close call, I continued on giving the white-faced driver a quick wave of appreciation . Then my luck ran out. The brief pause propped up against the BMW's bumper broke my rhythm and subsequently caused me to stumble into the path of an extended-cab pickup, a Dodge Ram I believe. I don't remember the impact, just a blinding light and a mind-numbing explosion. That's when my unanticipated sojourn in the circle of death-the first circle--began.

Sixteen, innocent, and beautiful, April Perry is gang raped by five hoodlums. To shield her from publicity, her wealthy father sends her to Boston to complete her education. She returns to Tampa eight years later with a law degree and joins the District Attorney's staff. During her absence, the five rapists have been paroled and are back on the streets. The savage theft of April's innocence has left her psychologically damaged, ashamed of her body and maintaining a paranoid distrust of all men. Shortly after April's return, a killer using the name of Azrael, the Angel of Death, undertakes the systematic elimination of the rapists. During her absence, April's high school sweetheart Brad "Rock" Paxton has become a Detective Intern and is partnered with Lt. Luis Agosto, the acting head of Homicide. They are faced with the prospect that the girl that Rock loved as a youth-still loves-may be the killer, Azrael. When all of the rapists are dead except Josh Sampson--the leader of the gang--Azrael invites a select group to participate in his Josh's execution. Among those invited are Rock and his partner. They are helpless to deter the gruesome outcome as Azrael is unmasked.

Prologue: After committing several unauthorized assassinations, DEA agent Rico Caraballo leaves the Agency and retreats to a mission in Columbia's back country. Rico returns to the mission after an absence and finds the resident Priest and a Sister murdered. Colombian Army troops arrive at the Mission accompanied by Mike Stilwell, DEA liaison with the unit. Mike recognizes Rico as a former agent and friend. Angered by the unprovoked murders, Rico agrees to consider returning to the Agency. Several days after Mike and the troops leave, Rico learns that renegades searching for him committed the murders. It becomes apparent that Father Ramon died protecting Rico. Rico discovers that the man who wants him dead is Jaime Morales, the Jefe of a large Columbian criminal enterprise, the same Jaime Morales who was badly disfigured by a bomb Rico planted. Morales' purchase of The Mayan Princess from a defunct cruise line gets the attention of the DEA, and the nature of the vessel's renovation coupled with an upsurge in Morales' foreign contacts alerts the CIA. The vessel is preparing for its maiden voyage when Rico and Mike meet with Flory Gomez who arranges Rico's reinstatement in time for an assignment to uncover the ship's mission. At Cartegena, Rico and Flory board as passengers, and Mike as a crew member. Morales joins the maiden voyage and learns from his cousin Julio Castano that Rico could be the person who planted the bomb that disfigured him. He invites Rico and Flory to dinner. It's an invitation that results in a series of confrontations between the agents and Morales' cohorts protecting their interests, even after disavowing their insane leader who forces upon them a premature anddeadly conclusion to the voyage.

Four individuals avenge friends slaughtered by a drug cartel. Aided by a maverick DEA Director, they confront and defeat the cartel on its own turf, a task complicated by the involvement of cartel accomplices in the Mexican government and US embassy.