Paul Madriani must come to the aid of young Alex Ives, who was implicated in a deadly motor collision on a deserted Southern California highway. Though Alex swears he had only one drink, all he remembers is that he was supposed to meet a sexy, mysterious woman at a house party. The next morning he woke up in the hospital in police custody, charged with drunk driving and manslaughter. When he discovers that Alex knew the deceased, a connected Washington, D.C., lawyer named Olinda Serna, Madriani realizes his client could face a murder charge.

Washington, D.C., attorney Cletus Proffit knows that Serna protected dangerous secrets involving players moving in the highest reaches of national politics. Now he must ensure that knowledge has died with her. Senator Maya Grimes also hears of the fatal crash and crafts her own web of deceit to suffocate anything that might come back to bite her. Then there's the vicious mercenary who panics when she learns of Serna's death and the manner in which it occurred.

Now Madriani must uncover the corruption and dark deeds that surround Serna's friends and find her killer—before he or she can strike again.