On the busiest shopping day of the year, some idealistic college
students believe they''re about to carry out an elaborate media
stunt at the largest mall in America. They think the jamming
devices in their backpacks will disrupt stores'' computer systems,
causing delays and chaos. What they don''t realize is that instead
of jamming devices, their backpacks are stuffed with explosives,
ready to be detonated by remote control and turning them into
suicide bombers.
Caught up in a political nightmare, battling a new interim
director and still mourning the death of her boss A. D. Cunningham,
FBI profiler Maggie O''Dell must put her own troubles aside and fly
to Minnesota to help figure out what''s behind this terrorist
attack-a massacre that is all the more frightening because no group
has claimed responsibility.
The search becomes personal when a tip reveals that one of the
college students involved is Patrick, Maggie''s brother. Afraid and
on the run, Patrick must decide if he can finally trust Maggie
enough to help her unravel this horrifying nightmare.
Sifting through the debris for answers, Maggie is joined by Nick
Morrelli, who has recently taken a job with a national security
company that oversees security for the mall. Although Maggie and
Nick have investigated several cases together in the past, they''ve
never investigated a relationship with each other. Nick would like
to change that.
When an informant confides in Maggie that there are other
attacks on the secret agenda, she knows that she''s running out of
time. In less than twenty-four hours she''ll need to figure out
exactly when and where the second attack will take place, who to
look for and how to keep her brother from becoming one of the
casualties.
