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The story kicks off with the assassination of two philosophically divergent Supreme Court Justices.
While the public speculates about who may have killed them and why, the main character, Darby Shaw, researches the two justices'' records and cases pending before the court, suspecting the real motive might be simple greed, not politics. She writes a legal brief speculating that the assassinations were committed on behalf of Victor Mattiese, an oil tycoon wanting to drill for oil on swamp land currently occupied by an endangered breed of pelicans. The land is therefore protected from development, and a court case on appeal, filed on his behalf to gain access to the land, is expected soon to make its way to the Supreme Court. The two slain justices had a history of environmentalism — their only common view — and thus Darby surmises that Mattiese, who has a pre-existing business relationship with the President, hoped to turn the case in his favor by eliminating two justices, thus leaving his friend the President in a position to appoint new justices more likely to rule in his favor. Darby shows the brief to her law professor/mentor/lover, Thomas Callahan, who shows it to his Washington-based friend, Gavin Verheek. Both men are killed soon after. Darby comes to the attention of Washington post reporter Gray Grantham, and the two set out to prove her brief correct. Government forces quickly take sides, with the President trying to cover up his connection to Mattiese, which would be politically damaging; the FBI wants to get hold of Darby to verify her story; and allies of Mattiese try to kill her to cover up the story.
Published: April 03, 2008