When Washington DC police detective Ryan Kessler is targeted by Henry Loving, he and his family are immediately put under government protection Loving is a ruthless 'lifter', hired to extract information from his victims, and he will use whatever means necessary including kidnapping, torturing or killing their family Assigned to the Kesslers is protection officer Corte uncompromising, relentlessly devoted to protecting those in his care and a brilliant game strategist He also knows just how brutal the lifter can be — six years earlier, Loving killed someone close to him As tension increases between the family, the situation escalates into a deadly contest between protector and lifter as each tries to outwit the other And as the lifter closes in on his prey, Corte must decide whether to protect his charges, or expose them to a killer in the name of personal revenge