Conspiracies, political cover-ups, acts of terrorism. As one of the first cyborgs employed by the federal government, Rachel Peng though she had already lived through it all. Then, without warning, fourteen blocks of downtown Washington D.C. are gone, blown apart by bombs unlike anything Rachel has ever seen. The evidence is even more troubling, with each new clue suggesting their own people might be behind the attack. Rachel and her partner, Detective Raul Santino, might not believe that the Department of Homeland Security is responsible, but the rest of the country does. As tensions mount and the city begins to burn, Rachel learns that none of her usual investigatory techniques apply--for the first time in her long career as a cop, finding the bad guys might not be as important as learning why they wanted the public to rise up against their own government.

But even if Rachel and Santino can discover the killer's motive, it might be too late to stop what he's put into motion.