Willa Dutton, niece of President Dan Cox and the First Lady Jane Cox, celebrated her twelfth birthday at Camp David. Later that day Willa's mother Pam was murdered and Willa kidnapped.

Sean King and his partner Michelle Maxwell are called in by Jane Cox to find her niece. Sean, former Secret Service, now private investigator, and long time friend of the First Family manages to bump heads with both the CIA and the FBI. Neither agency wants Sean and Michelle involved but the First Lady insists. What Jane Cox wants, she gets . . . The question is why she wants Sean's help. First, she trusts him because many years ago he saved Dan Cox's political career from scandal, second, Jane Cox has a secret she dares not reveal to any other person, not even Sean.

Tuck Dutton, brother of the First Lady, has no idea why anyone would kill his wife and take his daughter. Could it have something to do with a pending government biodefense contract his company is vying for? This possibility leads Sean and Michelle down a road of intrigue which proves Tuck is hiding more than one lie. Be assured he is not the only one with a secret.

Enter Sam Quarry into the story. Quarry, of the crumbling Atlee plantation in Alabama, is a man determined to get justice for his daughter Tippi and to seek revenge on the person who raped and assaulted her thirteen years ago. Tippi due to massive blood loss and oxygen deprivation is forever hooked up to a ventilator and feeding tubes. "Irreversible," the doctor's said. Before Tippi fell into a coma, she named her assailant. Sam's thirst for vengeance knows no bounds. He's made his first two moves toward perfect justice. More is forthcoming.

As if things aren't bad enough, Michelle's mother is murdered and she is forced to face personal demons from her childhood. Demons that just may send her over the edge of reason.

Baldacci, author of sixteen previous consecutive New York Times bestsellers, is one of the world's favorite storytellers. The author's ability to spin complex plots filled with multiple characters is uncanny. He patiently unravels his four pronged tale with an array of astonishing events. One by one he clarifies Sam Quarry's heinous and mysterious acts. Subtle foreshadowing proves relevant. I guarantee you will not guess the ending of the novel. Chalk it up to just how masterful Baldacci is in his plotting.