For readers of The MAGA Diaries and Hate in the Homeland, an eye-opening and crucial true story of one man risking his life to infiltrate the most dangerous neo-Nazi group in the United States.

When Scott Payne was growing up, he never envisioned a future that included what happened on Halloween night 2019. Out in the woods of Georgia, he tried desperately to save a goat from being sacrificed in a ritual by a group of neo-Nazis without revealing that he was actually an undercover agent.

Now, this retired FBI agent reveals how and why he infiltrated the rapidly growing American Nazi group, The Base. Known as the “Hillbilly Donnie Brasco,” Payne was guided through some of the most terrifying and risky assignments in the FBI’s history by his devotion to his family and his Christian faith.

Timely and unputdownable, Code Name: Pale Horse is an unflinching look at one of biggest threats in national security, as well as an inspiring memoir from an American hero.

Scott Payne is a retired FBI Special Agent who spent twenty-eight years in law enforcement investigating cases against drug trafficking organizations, human traffickers, outlaw motorcycle clubs, gangs, public corruption, and domestic terrorists. He was also a SWAT team operator and instructor for firearms, tactics, and undercover operations. He lives in the southeast with his wife, two daughters, and dogs.

Scott Payne's profile page

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's national security reporter and speaks frequently on issues concerning terrorism and civil rights. She has appeared on CNN, NBC, Al Jazeera, BBC, and CBC and has contributed to or been quoted in the New York Times and Guardian as well as other television, radio, newspaper and magazines throughout Canada, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. Shephard has won Canada's top two newspaper awards -- the National Newspaper Award for Investigations and the Governor General's Michener Award for public service journalism. Her first book, Guantanamo's Child: The Untold Story of Omar Khadr, was published in March 2008 to wide acclaim.

Michelle Shephard's profile page

“Both exhilarating and frightening, this is former FBI agent Scott Payne’s account of discovering and ferreting out America’s Nazis, one of the largest and most insidious domestic terror groups in US history. The tradecraft on display is a true example of the undercover agent’s mantra, ‘Befriend and Betray.’ The book reads like a novel but, shockingly, is all true!”
—Robert K. Wittman, founder of the FBI Art Crime Team and New York Times bestselling author of Priceless and The Devil’s Diary

"In this gripping debut memoir... Payne nimbly juggles a pulse-pounding account of his undercover efforts with a poignant glimpse at the toll his work took on his wife and young daughter. Fans of Joseph Pistone’s Donnie Brasco should snap this up."
—Publishers Weekly

“A fascinating account of one man's journey into the evil dregs of the criminal underworld. Ride along with Payne as he takes you through the kinds of challenging and dangerous assignments that most undercover agents would never even consider, delivering a masterful tour de force! Truly a captivating story from one of the top undercover agents in the Bureau. His story will simply astound you.”
—Joaquin “Jack” Garcia, retired FBI agent and New York Times bestselling author of Making Jack Falcone

“I raced through it. When Payne lifts up the rock to show what’s underneath, you can’t look away. A gripping read.”
—Linwood Barclay, New York Times bestselling author

“A fast-paced, riveting account of what white nationalist terror cells look like from the inside. Scott Payne’s first-hand experience and Michelle Shephard’s expert storytelling make a formidable combination.”
—Spencer Ackerman, Pulitzer Prize and National Magazine Award–winning reporter and author of Reign of Terror: How The 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump

“Code Name: Pale Horse offers an urgent and exciting look into the life of an FBI undercover agent, placing the reader deep inside Payne’s most dangerous and thrilling undercover situations, and showcasing both the hardships he endured and his steely mental resolve.”
—Joe Pistone, New York Times bestselling author of Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia