Escaping This World - Escaping This World, #1

Instead of going home directly after a tough week at work, Giles Greenwood and his brother Michael arrive at their favourite pub with their friends Phillip and Francis. Unbeknownst to them, two crime gangs planned to meet at that location to conclude an illicit transaction involving international terrorism plans. Phillip is fatally shot during a brawl that accidentally consumes all the gathered groups.
The two criminal gangs quickly disperse, leaving Giles wrongfully implicated in Phillip's murder. The three agree they must pursue the man who killed Phillip and bring him to justice to absolve Giles. Many elements of their pursuit are unforeseen. They use clandestine crime routes to head out to sea, where dangers quickly surround them. There is much at stake for Giles. He is torn to protect his fragile brother Michael, exonerate himself, and find the elusive happiness he yearns for.
However, the quest seems to have a life of its own. The threesome feels they are not in control, and events sweep them further away into an uncertain world. The companions now learn the world's hard truths and must rely upon each other only. They steer towards Brazil, deeper into a perilous criminal underworld of dark conspiracy which they are unprepared for. A broader international conflagration is about to begin due to their pursuit.
A shadowy Illuminati-like organisation is revealed at the centre of all matters as Giles, Michael, and Francis have unknowingly become active players in a more expansive and dangerous struggle by the world's dark forces.