Recently discharged from the Australian army, Simon meets a beautiful woman while travelling to Far North Queensland in Australia. They fall in love. When they reach the city of Cairns they encounter a man called Wilson. Wilson is the head of a secret government agency called AATIO, an organization responsible for 'the lethal removal' of unwanted criminal groups and terrorist cells which cannot be dealt with in a more 'legally acceptable' manner.

The young woman is accidentally killed in an assassination attempt on Wilson's life. Consumed with grief and a lust for vengeance, the ex-soldier is drafted by Wilson into the ATTIO fold and sets out on a blood soaked vendetta against the people he has been told were responsible for his wife's murder. But there is more to her death than meets the eye. As the story unfolds, the ex-soldier becomes involved in a desperate plot to assassinate the Australian Prime Minister.