Marcus Peterson is an agent with the CIA.
Up until the beginning of the first recorded adventure, his employment has been less than he had anticipated. "Recruited by the CIA in his senior year at NYU, he was becoming disillusioned with his first real job out of college. The recruiter had told him that poli-sci graduates were just what the CIA needed. They promised him it would be an exciting job and he would see the world. He naturally thought of James Bond. So far, reality had turned out to be far from the promise. Running background investigations on foreign delegates to the UN who were suspected of being anti-American was really pretty boring, he thought, certainly not worthy of his talents."
That first adventure will take place a year and a half after he had started with them. He had only just moved into a place of his own after living with his parents, a very small apartment complete with a Murphy bed. Falling a tad behind on his work assignments because of the boredom mentioned, suddenly Peterson is called into his boss's office and told of his new mission, a surveillance gig onboard a luxury cruise liner to monitor members of a powerful crime family.
And he is given a wife. Jenna is her name. A fellow newbie agent who had attended NYU at the same time as he but with whom he had had little contact. Now they were 'married' and on a mission together. Peterson is forced to learn not only how to be a good undercover operative but also how to be a good husband, even if the marriage is just pretend.
One thing he will learn early on is that his 'wife' and partner, though just as new to the spy business as he is, is one pretty good person to have on your side.