Nick West is an agent with the Department of Homeland Security.
When we first meet West, he is on his way out the door. Not from getting fired though that came close and could still happen but because his boss, or at least the boss before West's recent transfer to D.C., knew a forced vacation was needed to cool the man down. West wanted a transfer to be closer to his wife, a veterinary in Atlanta. What he got was a move further away and a major jerk of an internal affairs man causing trouble to boot. When that man took a nasty tumble and then falsely blamed the two missing front teeth on West, things did not look good.
West is definitely a man of action. He thrives on it which is lucky because it finds him all the time. He is not a deep thinker though he has terrific instincts. He doesn't need to be, though, because he has a good friend in Baker, a computer expert who more than makes up for any deficit West might have. Fortunately for Baker, West is able to save Baker's backside quite often in the process. Together they make a decent partnership though there is not room for doubt that West is the senior member and not just because of age.
As the series progresses, things will change for both characters, especially with regards their employment status, but regardless of who is paying, or not paying, the bills, it seems people of the Alphabet Agencies cannot get enough of West's "delightful" wit. When it is spoken while driving his Porsche at over a hundred miles per hour as happens in one scene, it kinda loses its humor.