There is only one speck of land in the entire world where activities literally take place in the shadow of tomorrow. It is a remote island in the Arctic Circle, beyond the northwestern tip of the Aleutian Island chain, and located just east of the international date line. Beyond the west shore of the Bering Strait, on the other side of the date line, stands the mountains of the Kamchatka Peninsula. When the sun sets on a rare clear day, that mountain range, towering in the domain of tomorrow, casts a shadow over the small and remote island of today.

With less than thirty working days before retirement, FBI Special Agent Rhet Bradley is abruptly assigned to investigate a mysterious and bizarre death on that isolated island. His investigation is stymied by the secrecy of the multiple and disparate clandestine operations being conducted there by various contingents of the US military and government agencies.

Early in his investigation, Agent Bradley is confronted with powerful Washington, DC, politicians and bureaucrats who insist that his official reports should be contrived to serve their particular agendas.

Distrust among the secretive agencies, military units, bureaucrats, and politicians complicates Bradley's case. Concurrently, intense blizzard conditions and a petty illicit drug dealer threaten Rhet's life. While contending with the myriad of hazards and obstacles, Rhet Bradley must set aside his personal concerns, including the untimely death of his lifelong best friend, his son's pending return from the war in Vietnam, and his lack of preparations for his looming retirement.

Throughout his investigation, Rhet remains uncertain of who he can trust, whether a mysterious stranger is yet another foil to mislead his investigation, if the victim was a traitor or a double agent, if he will be removed from the assignment, or if he will be fired, discredited, and lose his pension.