TO MY AGENT, Nat Sobel, and his wife, Judith, for believing in me all the way back to the first iteration. At times Nat knew John Rain better than I did (this could be a little unsettling), and Rain would never have emerged as the complex character he is without Nat’s insight and guidance.
To Walter LaFeber of Cornell University, for being a great teacher and friend, and for writing The Clash: A History of U.S.-Japan Diplomatic Relations, the definitive study of its subject, which provided some of the historical foundations for the birth of John Rain.
To my instructors, formal and informal, and randori partners at the Kodokan in Tokyo, the beating heart of world judo, for imparting to me some of the skills that make their home in John Rain’s deadly toolbox.
To Benjamin Fulford, Forbes Tokyo Bureau Chief, for his courageous and unrelenting reporting of the corruption that plagues Japan—corruption that acts as an underpinning for this story and that should be more widely heeded by the people it most directly affects.
To Koichiro Fukasawa, a diplomat with the soul of an artist and the most bicultural person I have ever known, for sharing his insights about all things Japanese, and for introducing me to so many of the marvels of Tokyo.
To Dave Lowry, for his sublime Autumn Lightning: The Education of an American Samurai, which influenced my own understanding of shibumi and the warrior arts, and which provided, therefore, part of the education of John Rain.
To the omnidirectional Carl, veteran of the secret wars, for teaching me to hit first, soon, early, and often, whose very presence got me thinking in the right direction.
Most of all to my wife, Laura, for putting up with my writing and other obsessions and for doing so many other things to support and encourage the creation of this book. Through countless discussions on walks, long drives, and sometimes late at night over a single malt, Laura helped me as no one else ever could to find the story, the characters, the words, the will.