In the near future, a former Canadian Defence Minister runs the Mandali Group, a private security firm built around a remarkable breed of dogs descended from Chernobyl strays. Genetically enhanced with superior senses and an almost telepathic bond with their handlers, these canines are force multipliers unlike anything in modern warfare. When Russian private military contractor Yuri Mendelev begins assassinating engineers on Canada's critical frigate program and kidnaps the scientist who unlocked the dogs' genome, the Mandali team is thrust into a shadow war that reaches from Zanzibar to Kiev to the streets of Halifax.
But the boss has a larger play in motion. Rather than seeking power himself, he secretly grooms Liana-a brilliant, blind public servant partnered with a service dog named Bobby-to run for the leadership of his party and become Prime Minister. As his own candidacy serves as a stalking horse to absorb attacks, Liana rises on a message of competence and moral clarity. The converging threats culminate at the party convention, where Mandali's human and canine operatives must thwart a Russian decapitation strike designed to kill the future Prime Minister. In the aftermath, Liana takes office, the Russian network is dismantled, and the boss finds redemption not in power, but in proving that the greatest leadership lies in elevating others-a lesson taught by the abandoned dogs who chose to trust again.
