Best Seller

A group of gunmen in Richard Nixon masks steals evidence from a police evidence storage unit and kills several officers. Meechum, who is on the scene, stabs one robber and is seriously wounded, fighting for his life. The raid ends with the attackers escaping into the night.

During the raid, Meechum is seriously wounded after stabbing one of the robbers. He survives the attack and his experiences later inspire his memoir Inside Job. The ordeal marks the start of his long career as a writer and detective.

After recovery, Meechum publishes Inside Job, a memoir based on the 1972 incident. The book earns him acclaim and cements his status as both author and detective. His public profile rises as the years pass.

In 1987, Meechum is an acclaimed author and decorated detective who is now a widowed father raising his daughter Holly. He struggles with writer's block while hunting for his next vision. Family life and career push in different directions.

On a case at the Los Angeles docks, a suspect runs as Meechum gives chase. A man named Cleve joins the pursuit and shoots the suspect from an overhead crane before vanishing. The mysterious ally leaves a lingering question about his motives.

Cleve arranges a meeting with Meechum and urges him to write about his history as a paid assassin for Kappa International. He promises to provide corroborating evidence if Meechum takes the story. Meechum remains cautious but intrigued by the potential truth behind Cleve's claims.

Madlock, through his legal representatives, tries to bribe Meechum to bury the story, but the offer is rejected. Cleve emphasizes the danger surrounding Kappa International and warns Meechum to stay prepared. The power to suppress the truth looms over every decision.

Meechum and Cleve travel first to New York City and then to Texas as Cleve recounts his history of hits. They probe the depths of Cleve's past while the prospect of a sensational exposé grows closer. The journey deepens their uneasy alliance.

In a restaurant, Meechum discovers that Cleve was the injured masked gunman he had stabbed years earlier. The revelation shifts Meechum's trust and redefines their relationship. The new truth drives the duo toward a possible shared purpose.

An enforcer attempts to steal Meechum's manuscript and kill Holly, but Cleve intervenes by killing the enforcer. He then sends Holly to Meechum's agent Roberta Gillian to ensure her safety. The danger around the manuscript escalates into direct confrontation.

Madlock kidnaps Holly and Meechum meets him at his oceanfront estate. Cleve storms the house, guns down the bodyguards, and sacrifices his life to save Holly. The confrontation centers on a moral choice between truth and protection.

Meechum arrests Madlock while comforting the dying Cleve, who reminds him he is the hero. In the aftermath, Meechum publishes Retribution: The Fall of David Madlock and Kappa International, a book that spends 28 weeks on the bestseller list. The truth behind Kappa International becomes a lasting legacy.