The Manhattan DA, Butch Karp, has foiled psychopath Andrew Kane's bid to become the mayor of New York City; Kane, the former head of a law firm, awaits trial for murder at the Tombs. When Kane's attorneys seek their own psychiatric evaluation, they arrange for the high-risk prisoner to be examined at a private hospital upstate. Few readers will be surprised when the convoy is waylaid, allowing the criminal mastermind to escape and plot a bigger crime. Having allied himself with al-Qaeda, Kane seeks to bring about a cataclysmic act of terror while getting revenge on Karp and his allies.