It's l980. A civil war is under way in El Salvador. The landless peasantry has been taken over by Soviet-backed Communists. They are savagely opposed by the Army and landowners, whose death squads kill at will. Neither side likes the American solution: a fairly elected moderate government which will undertake land reform. Both sides, however, would like to kill the CIA's Chief of Operations, Peter Ivorson. As if that weren't bad enough, Ivorson is also caught in the middle of a spitting contest between his boss, the Chief of Station, and the U.S.

Ambassador. In fact, about the only person in San Salavador who doesn't hate Ivorson is COS's secretary. She wants him to forget his wife. Ivorson keeps trying to do his job and stay alive, but sooner or later, even Ivorson may run out of luck.