When rookie lawyer Jessica Ford gets the call from her boss, John Davenport, the senior partner at the illustrious law firm for which she works, she can tell he is well on his way to being drunk. He needs Jess to meet First Lady Annette Cooper, for whom Davenport is a personal lawyer, at a Washington, D.C., hotel. Jess is thrilled: this high-profile assignment must mean that she's earned her boss's trust and she's on her way to bigger things. But unfortunately, bigger isn't always better.

Jess doesn't remember much ? only that in the course of the late-night meeting with Annette Cooper, she ended up in the backseat of a car, speeding off into the darkness. All Jess knows is that the car crashed en route, and the other three passengers were killed, including the First Lady. Badly injured, Jess is the only survivor of what is trumpeted around the world as a tragic accident.

Although she has no memory about the events leading up to the accident, Jess is still bothered by one question: Was it really an accident? The Secret Service agent on the case, Mark Ryan, gets the feeling that Jess is hiding something. As his suspicions grow, Jess's world starts falling apart. In fact, everyone who might possibly know the details about the First Lady's last few hours starts turning up dead. And then Jess understands: If she remembers that night, she'll be dead too.

Terrified and certain that the First Lady's death was no accident, Jess has only Mark Ryan to turn to...

Karen Robards is the author of more than thirty novels, most recently the New York Times bestseller Pursuit. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky.