The crack of a rifle brings the Senator down. Standing nearby, Judge Warren Alexander tries to save him, but it's too late, the wound too severe. With few leads in the Senator's murder, life in Washington eventually resumes a normal pace. So does Judge Alexander, until his wife is arrested for the crime. But it doesn't make any sense. His wife isn't a killer. Still, the FBI's new evidence is overwhelming and he, alone, believes in her innocence. Digging through the Senator's life, the Judge finds a mysterious link between the Senator and the rape and murder of a beautiful teenage girl in a Maine resort town more than 40 years earlier. Is the key to the Senator's death buried with the girl? As the Judge begins narrowing in on suspects, unearthing disturbing secrets along the way, he is unprepared for the consequences. The White House is watching him, waiting for the right moment, determined to do whatever it takes to keep the truth from coming out.