Until the day Maria Johansen, a beautiful immigrant from Central America, walked through the door of his Oakland law office with an aging priest, Nick Mastro thought he had his priorities straight. In his opinion, certainty was more valuable than success, but the world that Maria and her powerful husband, Arthur, draw him into puts that all in question. Nick soon learns that the choice is not always his when he becomes part of the conflict between the demands of Maria's religious values and the desires of her powerful husband. Their lives begin to unravel when Arthur, through hubris and desperation to preserve his house-of-cards life, joins in a conspiracy that risks the lives of hundreds of thousands. As he continues to ignore the obvious dangers in his path, recklessness quickly transforms into betrayal and heartbreak. Undertaking a twisting journey from the Russian steppes to the San Francisco Bay, and finally to the jungles of Guatemala, they learn that there is a cost for their unbridled self-interest. Their quests for love, safety, and sanity among the remnants of the Cold War will test each person's understanding of the world they have created, leading them to discover that how far they are willing to go depends on The Length of the Leash.