Plus, receive recommendations and exclusive offers on all of your favorite books and authors from Simon & Schuster.
Code Name: Pale Horse
How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis
Table of Contents
About The Book
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 a 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.
Product Details
- Publisher: Atria Books (March 25, 2025)
- Length: 256 pages
- ISBN13: 9781668032909
Browse Related Books
Raves and Reviews
“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
“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
“Code Name: Pale Horse is nothing if not a spiritual quest. . . a glimmering light on our nation’s underbelly and the pitch-dark road ahead as forces of fascism spread amid the land.”
—Hamilton Cain, Chapter 16
“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
“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
“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
“The world of an undercover cop has never been more compelling. Payne's firsthand experience puts readers in the front row, observing the setbacks, triumphs, and inner workings of undercover operations. An enlightening, harrowing, and ultimately fulfilling read.”
—Booklist
"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] tough-as-nails account… An eye-opening look at the small but eminently dangerous radical right-wing fringe out there in the shadows.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Code Name: Pale Horse Hardcover 9781668032909
- Author Photo (jpg): Scott Payne courtesy of the author(0.1 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit