From the introduction:
Corporations run the universe. They provide the products we use every day and supply us with the money to buy them. That feeling of safety and stability they advertise only means their marketing campaigns are working. Every aspect of our lives is controlled or manipulated in some way by people at the top of the corporate food chain and we are forced to live in their shadows.
Most companies are willing to conduct clandestine operations to drive their competitors into the ground. Blackmail, vandalism, thievery, kidnapping and murder are just some of the ways companies knock each other down a peg. No self-respecting businessman would sully his hands with such a project, thus an underground network of civilian operatives fills that need.
Individuals who are brave (or insane) enough to assist in these secret missions are rewarded with either a fat check or a dirt nap. Due to the dangerous and unpredictable nature of these missions, civilian operatives are often called... Soldiers of Misfortune.