Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene is approached at a legal conference by Preston Davies, a fellow law clerk to a federal judge in Idaho. Davies believes that his boss, Judge Francesca Whitner, was being blackmailed in the days before she died. Another shocking murder leads Avery to a list of names --- all federal judges --- and, alarmingly, all judges on the FISA Court (the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court), also known as America’s "secret court." It is this body that grants permission to the government to wiretap Americans or spy on corporations suspected of terrorism. As Avery digs deeper, she begins to see a frightening pattern --- and she worries that something far more sinister may be unfolding inside the nation’s third branch of government.

Dr. Raleigh Foster, an operative for a top-secret intelligence organization, knows that her undercover work has its risks. So she doesn't hesitate when asked to infiltrate Scimitar, the terrorist group that has stolen lethal environmental technology. But when she's assigned a partner --- brooding, sexy Adam Grayson --- to pose as her lover, Raleigh discovers that the most dangerous risk of all...is falling in love. Adam blames himself for the botched mission that got his best friend killed by Scimitar, and he believes that Raleigh may have contributed to the man's death. But the closer he works with his alluring partner, the more his suspicions turn to trust --- and intense desire.

Avery Keene, a brilliant young law clerk for the legendary Justice Howard Wynn, is doing her best to hold her strained personal life together. But when the shocking news breaks that Justice Wynn --- the cantankerous swing vote on the court --- has slipped into a coma, Avery’s life turns upside down. She learns that Wynn has appointed her to serve as his legal guardian and hold his power of attorney. Avery finds that Justice Wynn had been secretly researching one of the most controversial cases before the court --- a proposed merger between an American biotech company and an Indian genetics firm, which promises to unleash breathtaking results in the medical field. She also discovers that Wynn suspected a dangerous conspiracy was infiltrating the highest corridors of power in Washington.