A woman named Cynthia Garcia is stabbed to death and dumped in the Arizona desert after partying at a Hells Angels clubhouse in Arizona; three bullet-ridden bodies of bikers turn up in a river in Holland; a retired policeman is killed when his car is bombed in Australia. Meanwhile, the world’s most famous Hells Angel, Sonny Barger, is feted by the media on his global book tour. Angels of Death takes readers to Arizona, inside the biggest American police undercover operation to infiltrate the bikers; to British Columbia, Canada, where wealthy bikers dominate the organized crime pyramid; to Australia where the “bikies” shoot-it-out with police; to Curaçao where terrorist organizations funnel drugs to Dutch bikers; and to the streets of Oslo, Copenhagen, and Helsinki where a murderous biker war saw rocket attacks and bombs turn Scandinavia into a war zone.

While the media has continued to toast the Hells Angel icon Sonny Barger as an American legend, the facts tell another story — they are America’s major crime export. With an estimated 2,500 full-patch members in 25 countries, the Hells Angels have inspired a global subculture of biker gangs that are among the most feared and violent underworld players.