Adam Trent, divorced single father and washed-out Wall Street whistleblower, is trying to get his life back together in Miami in a low-pressure consultant business among old friends. On a four-day trip deep into the Everglades with his nine-year-old daughter and an archeologist friend, they discover an ancient Calusa temple mound. A cold, February dusk settles on the mound as they explore its surface and minutes later Adam's world is shattered. An unmarked, black helicopter lands near them and assailants attack with automatic weapons. Adam is wounded and his daughter and friend are killed. He escapes by his own effort and, after recovering, mounts an all-out hunt for the killers.He is not aware that he crossed paths with elements of a deep cover Arab terrorist group about to launch a catastrophic attack on the United States with a deadly smallpox-like virus for which there is no vaccine and no cure. He teams up with beautiful, exotic physician Laura Vasalli and finds himself propelled into a web of intrigue around the terrorist cell, learning at the last minute that they plan to launch the first blow of their attack during the World Series. Time and options are running out by the time Adam can make his own, last-ditch assault on the terrorists.