Angelica Dougherty of the FBI Anti-Terror knew it was too late to stop the attack. Amid the chaos, she vowed to eliminate the Fifth Cell and any supporters responsible for the carnage unfolding in front of her. During the first attack at the synagogue in St. Paul, she had no idea that this was just the beginning of what was to be a two-year jihad that would rattle Washington DC and America. With each new attack, it was clear that these were not copycat attacks--they were well orchestrated missions with consistent strategies. Agent Dougherty led investigations into a multitude of attacks by at least four terror cells. Overwhelmed with a shortage of evidence, the young agent was left with more questions than answers. As pressure mounts, she reaches out to a retired CIA operative, Bert Rizzo, who may have uncovered a plot nearly three decades ago that seems to be playing out in present time. If she can't crack this case, heads will roll. She understood her place in the pecking order, and her career will end if she can't find answers--fast.
Rizzo confides in Agent Dougherty that he believes these attacks follow a strategy that had been identified in intelligence gathered three decades ago from an Afghanistan listening post in eastern Afghanistan (Tora Bora). Despite her promise that she would not divulge Rizzo's theory without corroborating evidence, she soon finds herself going on the record with President William Francis and his National Security team at Camp David.
Johnny Clevis was pulled from a troubled life to the mosque by his new friend Albert Collins. His conversion to Islam and progression to a skilled Islamic Jihadist was his first taste of success and recognition. Akbar al- Osman took Johnny under his wing and carefully groomed him into a leader destined to be in service to Allah and radical Islam. Johnny vowed his loyalty to the cause and to strike the America he believed had never given him a chance to succeed. One of the jihadists is killed in a terror attack in Idaho. The body is identified and leads Dougherty to the mosque in Memphis and the raid that uncovers numerous suspects, including the name of the leader of the Fifth Cell.
Rizzo and Dougherty search the deep caves of the eastern Rockies where they have evidence that one of the cells has been using it as a home base. The capture of Albert Collins, leader of cell number one, is the first big break. The FBI moves Collins to Malmstrom Air Force base where Dougherty uses all her skills and some old school tactics to interrogate the suspect. She acquires intelligence leading to telling information about the remaining cells, including the elusive Fifth cell.
As preparations begin for the Fifth cell's greatest attack yet, Dougherty races to uncover the cell at the source. Will she stop the most devastating attack on American soil since 9/11, or will she lose more than just her job in a failed mission?