Knockout-gas attacks. Military-style kidnappings. Vanishing witnesses. Detectives Darcy Lynch and Erik Sorensen are hot on the trail of a string of crimes that point to a national security threat. Or maybe they're just a smoke screen for the killer's true motive. Hot startups on the market. NanoQ is about to be acquired for $168 million-until a pesky lawsuit, a pimp, and a high-priced call girl get in the way. A detective's demons. Haunted by his need to prove himself to the homicide team, Lynch is determined to catch the mastermind behind the attacks. But his drive comes with a price, one which may put his colleagues in harm's way. Set against the backdrop of Silicon Valley's unrelenting startup culture, where fortunes can rise and fall in an instant, Smoke Screen is the sequel to Elin Barnes's debut novel, Justification for Murder.