After graduating from Yale, Peter Roman joined the Marine Corps. He was an infantry officer from 1963 to 1966 and served in Okinawa, Quantico, and Camp Lejeune. He left the Marines to join the CIA, where he spent almost seven years as an operations officer in the clandestine service. He then spent 24 years in the Federal government doing investigations into everything from plane crashes to organized crime. He has a wife, two sons, who both work in criminal justice, and five grandchildren.