For Captain Nikki Heat, this horrific murder becomes more than just another case when the terrorists announce their next victim: her husband, world-famous magazine writer Jameson Rook. Desperate to ensure his safety, Heat tries to contact Rook, who is supposed to be off writing a First Press profile about independent presidential candidate Legs Kline, a sudden favorite for the White House. Except Rook is suddenly nowhere to be found. Heat realizes the only way to stop the terrorists from harming Rook is to get to them first. And they've left behind at least one strange clue: a colorful scarf, which doesn't belong in any jihadist's hideout. But as if that one deeply personal case is not enough to plunge Nikki Heat's world into turmoil, there suddenly comes another. It begins when she catches a glimpse of a street person who she swears is her mother-a woman who has been dead for twenty years. From one of America's most beloved writers comes a pulse-pounding double thriller that turns up the heat like never before.