Shawn McGyver and his friend Mike Anderson had been with the Philadelphia Police for only a few years when war interrupted their chosen profession. Trained marksman they volunteered to serve their nation as members of the elite Berdan Sharpshooters; soldiers, who man-for-man were responsible for more Rebel casualties than any unit in the Union Army. Having come to Virginia they worked as scout, skirmisher and sniper, doing what they could to help General McClellan in his pursuit to end the war quickly. They became soldiers, proud of their comrades and their unit. Then the mutilated bodies were discovered. Remembering that the recently promoted Lieutenant McGyver had been trained as a police investigator in London, his superiors tasked him with the unofficial investigation into the grisly crimes. An investigation that would find him at odds with the official investigators. Shawn McGyver would now have to lead his platoon against a determined enemy, investigate a grisly series of murders and protect himself and those he cared about most from a vindictive and dangerous officer.