A top nuclear scientist turns homicidal, taking an innocent family hostage at gunpoint. Gideon Crew, a colleague of the scientist at Los Alamos, is called in to talk the man down. But the standoff ends in an explosion of violence. When the authorities discover the scientist's body is intensely radioactive, and that he had recently embraced Islamic extremism, all hell breaks loose.

Over the past two decades, Nick Horrigan has built a quiet, safe life for himself, living as much under the radar as possible. But all of that shatters when, in the middle of the night, a SWAT team bursts into his apartment, grabs him and drags him to a waiting helicopter. A terrorist, someone Nick has never heard of, has seized control of a nuclear reactor, threatening to blow it up. And the only person he2ll talk to is Nick, promising to tell Nick...

"A debut international thriller about a Pakistani terrorist's nuclear threat to blow up the White House"-- Provided by publisher. "An exciting and entertaining debut international thriller from an NPR correspondent about a terrorist's nuclear threat to blow up the White House. Alexandra James, devoted reporter for the New England Examiner, is attractive, exceptionally smart, an experienced high-end shoe shopper, and used to getting what she wants....