Unbeknownst to both Reacher and Shevick, Fisnik is already dead, having been murdered on Dino's orders after Gregory, the boss of the rival Ukrainian mafia, framed him and another Albanian gangster as police informants.

The Shevicks were subsequently forced to sign an agreement with the hospital to pay for her treatment in advance, and even with multiple pro bono lawyers working on their case, they have no other option but to take out loans from the mob.

His investigation is noticed by the Ukrainians, and Reacher manages to hide from them with the help of Abigail "Abby" Gibson, a waitress employed at a small watering hole that pays protection to Gregory.

The group eventually deduces that Trulenko is working with the Ukrainians to run a fake news content farm for the Russian government within the borders of the United States, ensuring that it cannot be blocked by American authorities.

Reacher, Abby, Barton, Hogan, and Vantresca pose as maintenance workers and access the building, slowly working their way through all of the security measures and killing several guards until they finally locate Trulenko.

Reacher forces him at gunpoint to transfer all of his money, as well as Gregory's, into Aaron Shevick's personal account before shooting him dead and tipping off a Washington Post reporter about the farm's existence to ensure that it will be shut down and hide everyone's involvement.

[2] Kirkus Reviews stated that the novel had "the best premise for a Reacher novel in some time" — and emphasized that this was an indicator that "something has gone off in the series", criticizing the exposition and Child's techniques for depicting violence.

[3] The Hindustan Times found it to be not Child's best work, but nonetheless "engaging and diverting", and noted that its "sense of sameness" (compared to the other books in the series) was "comforting".