Detective Alex Cross is thwarted at every turn while he attempts to investigate the abduction of the president's son and daughter and also discovers a deadly contagion released in the capital's water supply that foreshadows a larger, more devastating attack.

Detective Alex Cross is one of the first on the scene of the biggest case he's ever been part of. The president's son and daughter have been abducted from their school -- an impossible crime, but somehow the kidnapper has done it. Alex does everything he can but is shunted to the fringes of the investigation. Someone powerful doesn't want him too close.

The President's son and daughter are abducted, and Detective Alex Cross is one of the first on the scene. But someone very high-up is using the FBI, Secret Service, and CIA to keep him off the case and in the dark. Meanwhile, a deadly contagion in the water supply cripples half of the capital, and Alex discovers that someone may be about to unleash the most devastating attack the United States has ever experienced.