Mark Beamon has always been an unconventional FBI agent. Years of putting the truth ahead of political expediency have resulted in a dead-end job in the Phoenix office. But a new terrorist threat brings him back from the wilderness. A videotape proves that a terrorist cell in the United States has access to modern missile technology. As events plunge Beamon into a river of deceit, he is forced to address the most important question of his life. What makes a crime a crime?