In the remote region of Ghanim in the Maghreb, two Quebec engineers are taken hostage; Rachel supervises, on orders from Ottawa, an unsuccessful attempt to capture Robin Denard, a French mercenary passing through Montreal.

The search for Denard gains momentum, but he thwarts it and mocks the SSC; while investigating the hostage situation, Thomassin consults Philip Miller, who has fallen into disgrace.

Rachel meets with Uncle Sergei, the station head of Russian intelligence services, and finds out that Denard is in Montreal to execute a hit; Sarah goes undercover and interacts with the hostages' spouses to ensure that they do not cause a stir.

Anne and her lover Théo get a close look at Denard's power; Rachel is compelled to meet Philip to give him some terrible news; one of the hostages succumbs to the mercenaries' pressure and shares vital information.

A lead helps Rachel pursue Denard's trail; Rachel's colleagues find that she is keeping secrets from them about Denard; Rachel continues to get closer to Fabien.

Denard's trap makes the management team doubt Rachel; a frightened Rachel mistrusts everyone close to her and can only count on Valérie.

Rachel learns about an associate of Denard and finds how he goes about always being one step ahead of her; Denard meets the leader of a drug cartel.

Rachel negotiates with an associate of Denard and the hunt around the latter intensifies; in order to protect his colleague, one of the two hostages tells all his secrets to the mercenaries.

A rescue operation is laid out to free the captives at Ghanim; Rachel sets up the last levers of her own revenge; Denard attacks one of his relatives.