An Al Qaeda cell emerges from an abandoned military base ready to commit another horrific act of terrorism, this time in the rich and famous Hamptons. The terrorists have been hired and funded by an eccentric billionaire whose purposes are to usurp a real estate and gambling empire he could not obtain by legitimate means, but below the dark surface of his sordid life lie more sinister motives of revenge and redemption. A sadistic murder starts the events in Animus cascading and it brings in James Griffin, the local Chief of Detectives. He is a cop's cop, forged by service in Vietnam, Ivy League educated, veteran of two decades in the NYPD and recently back from a horrific tour of reserve duty in Iraq. Animus races toward conclusion with a fatal betrayal, the arrival of a team from Delta Force, the kidnappings of both Griffin's girlfriend and young son, and a wild chase across the wind swept rocks around the Montauk Lighthouse. Death will lash out.