Worldwide, nearly three-quarters of journalists who die on assignment are targeted and assassinated for their dogged pursuit of important stories of injustice. In Marked for Death, Terry Gould brings this statistic to life, documenting the lives of seven journalists in Colombia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Russia, and Iraq who stayed on a story until their tragic deaths. Traveling to each locale, he talks with families, friends, colleagues, local officials, and even, in some cases, the parties who arranged the assassinations. Gould's quest into these diverse hearts of darkness seeks answers to two questions that cut to the core of human morality. What makes journalists stay on a story despite the death threats or bribes to look the other way? And what are the conditions that create a climate in which journalists are assassinated and no charges are brought against the public figures who order the killings?

In his riveting journey through countries dominated by corruption and violence, Gould searches for the crucial moment when these journalists realized they were willing to die, and finds complex reasons for their personal bravery.