One of the most decorated covert agents in U.S. history, Burroughs Rice, has been "on the black" for ten years, deep under cover and running for his life from some of the world's most dangerous powerbrokers. When a mysterious government agency stumbles onto the ex-agent in the wilds of Washington state, they force Rice to deal with a terrible secret he has protected for years. What follows is a harrowing road trip across the American heartland with Rice at war with an army of International mercenaries, an organized crime family and an ultra-violent biker gang. Complicating his mission is a young hitchhiker he rescues, who is on the run, and a trauma nurse who becomes an unwitting ally. ON THE BLACK comes to a surprising climax in the nation's capital - an armed showdown in one of the countries most famous national treasures.