Highly decorated New York City Police Commissioner Rick Raymond is awakened in the middle of the night when two uniformed cops are shot by a lone gunman in middle of Times Square. He goes to Bellevue, to visit the family of the policeman who was murdered, and the surviving officer of the two. He briefly meets the press, then goes to the scene of the shooting, a car that looked like the remnants of a war zone, bullet ridden and blood soaked. On the way home to Riverdale (in the North Bronx, just above Manhattan), he hears over the police radio that the suspected cop killer is being pursued in Harlem, where he has escaped via the subway, and reemerged onto the street. Raymond's instructs his driver to take him there, and when they arrive, wind up in the middle of a gun battle between the suspect and responding units. In the chase and chaos of combat, Raymond's car hits and kills the suspect. This action opening sets into motion a series of events that will take this domestic crime into the dark world of international terrorism. Complicating matters is a voracious tabloid press, internal city politics, and a long-simmering affair between Commissioner Raymond and the District Attorney (both married). As Rick Raymond races against the clock to solve the crime and prevent collateral personal damage, he discovers an international conspiracy that will rock not only the city, but the entire nation.

Highly decorated New York City Police Commissioner Rick Raymond is awakened in the middle of the night when two uniformed cops are shot by a lone gunman in middle of Times Square. He goes to Bellevue, to visit the family of the policeman who was murdered, and the surviving officer of the two. He briefly meets the press, then goes to the scene of the shooting, a car that looked like the remnants of a war zone, bullet ridden and blood soaked. On the way home to Riverdale (in the North Bronx, just above Manhattan), he hears over the police radio that the suspected cop killer is being pursued in Harlem, where he has escaped via the subway, and reemerged onto the street. Raymond's instructs his driver to take him there, and when they arrive, wind up in the middle of a gun battle between the suspect and responding units. In the chase and chaos of combat, Raymond's car hits and kills the suspect. This action opening sets into motion a series of events that will take this domestic crime into the dark world of international terrorism. Complicating matters is a voracious tabloid press, internal city politics, and a long-simmering affair between Commissioner Raymond and the District Attorney (both married). As Rick Raymond races against the clock to solve the crime and prevent collateral personal damage, he discovers an international conspiracy that will rock not only the city, but the entire nation.