Code Name: Pale Horse by Scott Payne

Code Name: Pale Horse

How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis

Scott Payne

Atria Books · Print & ebook · March 3, 2026

The thrilling true story of one man who risked his life to infiltrate the most dangerous neo-Nazi group in the United States, an “urgent and exciting look into the life of an FBI undercover agent” (Joseph D. Pistone, New York Times bestselling author) by “one of the top undercover agents in the Bureau” (Joaquin “Jack” Garcia, retired FBI agent and New York Times bestselling author).

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Who it’s for
Readers interested in FBI undercover work and investigations of extremist groups
Themes
FBI undercover investigations, White supremacy and neo-Nazism, Family and faith
Pacing
Fast

About this book

The thrilling true story of one man who risked his life to infiltrate the most dangerous neo-Nazi group in the United States, an “urgent and exciting look into the life of an FBI undercover agent” (Joseph D. Pistone, New York Times bestselling author) by “one of the top undercover agents in the Bureau” (Joaquin “Jack” Garcia, retired FBI agent and New York Times bestselling author).

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When Scott Payne was growing up, an ‘80s kid with a big attitude and a taste for sleeveless shirts, he could never have envisioned where he’d find himself on Halloween night 2019. Having transformed into “Pale Horse” and infiltrated the nation’s most dangerous, fastest-growing white supremacy group, The Base, he was huddled with a cell of neo-Nazis in the backwoods of Georgia as they slaughtered a goat and drank its blood in a ritual sacrifice. A decorated agent dubbed the “Hillbilly Donnie Brasco,” Payne takes readers along with him on some of the most terrifying and riskiest assignments in FBI history. He went deep undercover with the lethal Outlaw Motorcycle Club in Massachusetts; to the front lines of the opioid epidemic in Tennessee; and infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama. Through it all, he stayed married to the love of his life, raised two girls, and spent his Sundays at church, sustained by family and faith. Timely and unputdownable, Code Name: Pale Horse is a hard look at some of the most pressing threats facing America today. Honest and inspiring, it’s the story of a hero determined to take down a hateful army—before the unthinkable could come to pass.

Where it sits

Lives in Law Enforcement90%
Organized Crime29%
Espionage19%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Lives in Law Enforcement
  • 21st-Century America
  • Conservatism & Liberalism
Authors
Scott Payne
Publisher
Atria Books
Published
March 3, 2026
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
FBI undercover investigations · White supremacy and neo-Nazism · Family and faith
Reading lane
Lives in Law Enforcement