In El Paso Texas the bodies of a female FBI agent and a married Assistant Untied States Attorney are found nude and mutilated in his bed. The two of them were preparing to bring an indictment against a major Mexican Drug cartel. Chief Inspector Ben Douglas is ordered to El Paso to lead the investigation into these murders. The widow of the AUSA, although an American citizen, came from a very wealthy and prominent Mexican family. Initial investigation focused on determine if her family was connected to the Cartel or if her father and brother arranged a revenge killing for the betrayal by her husband. Investigation finds the murdered agent had an aborted romance with Ali Ben Muhammed, a graduate student from Yemen. When he told her after they were married she would be his second wife and would have to follow Yemen Customs she broke off with him. Enraged he slapped her around. She pulled her service weapon and drove him off. She had kept knowledge of her romance from most of her colleagues. Douglas confronted the man who denied any knowledge of the murders. He took great umbrage at being questioned. Shortly after that attempts were made on Douglas' life. The Yemenite had formed a small Jihadist group fro a few radical Mid-Eastern students attending the university. Douglas led the efforts to bring the Jihadist group to justice. They were successful except for the leader and one other who escaped into Mexico. The case became a fugitive case and Douglas returned to Washington. He began receiving telephone threats from Ali Ben Muhammed who was obviously in the Washington area. Douglas's psychologist wife went to Copenhagen on ashore exchange program with a psychological group in that city. Douglas enlisted the aid of a female agent to set ups situation like the one where the murders in El Paso occurred. The novel concludes with terrifying events at Douglas' Fairfax County, Va. home.