It's a dark September night in 2008, and three people have no idea what's about to hit them ... North of Baghdad, Jake Stewart, a legendary Delta Force operator, has tracked the emir of Al Qaeda to his lair and called in a drone strike that will eliminate him. It's a moment of triumph, but Jake's still recovering from Marla Duncan, a Marine attack helicopter pilot who saved his life and became his lover before marrying someone else. In coastal North Carolina, Jake's sister Kate teaches anthropology, grieves for her lost husband, and feels a hopeful attraction to Percy Collum, a popular African-American history professor who is also Jake's friend and Arabic teacher. South of Baghdad, Omar Rashid, an Iraqi farmer and former resistance fighter, has been rescued from jail by a mysterious group after a year of humiliation and torture. He's headed home, looking forward to a peaceful life with his wife and children. Then, without warning, Jake and Omar are hit by shocks that upend their lives and put them on a collision course. As their paths converge, Kate, Percy and Marla are inexorably drawn into the escalating spiral of fear and conflict. Suddenly, they must all face the darkness in their own pasts as they make choices that will be tragic or redemptive for them - and for America, as it races toward election eve.