On the Fourth of July, terrorists attack a floating casino on the Mississippi River in New Orleans. Clarence Reed, a former Navy SEAL, is recruited to clean out a drainage pipe near the bayou. But before he can get home after finishing the job, the FBI hunts him down and arrests him for the bombing. Malcolm Stinson, a New York lawyer, is on vacation in Hawaii when he gets the news that his sister is one of the bombing victims. When he arrives back in his hometown of New Orleans for her funeral, Malcolm's father, Reverend Josiah Stinson, a prominent pastor in the community, convinces him to represent Reed.
With the help of a former New York City cop, Malcolm investigates the case, but all the people with information about the bombing are mysteriously killed before Malcolm can reach them. A key defense witness in Malcolm's case is kidnapped, but when she escapes her captors, the race is on to find her. The terrorists, the FBI, and the local Mafia join the search for her while targeting Malcolm and his family in an effort to scare him off the case.
But who is behind the deadly terrorist act?