Paul Nichols, a long-time member of the Cosa Nostra, over 30 years organized the mob's illegal gambling network. He kills Denton, a Mafia member who has been skimming off the top. But the killing was done without a vote from the Cosa Nostra's "commission." Complicating the situation: Nichols has taken possession of "the book," a list of codes necessary to the running of the gambling operation. The FBI learns through an informant that Nichols may be participating in a high-stakes poker game. Erskine recruits Doc Cameron, once a successful gambler who was nearly killed by the mob. Cameron also has been invited to the poker game and Erskine goes undercover as Cameron's "silent partner." The Cosa Nostra's commission, meanwhile, decides to hire hit men who will murder everyone at the poker game and make a grab for "the book."