Contraband cargo-young and female-from a wrecked Ukraine freighter washes up on Rockaway Beach. But one victim died before she even hit the dark waters of the Atlantic. Only one other story has the power to grab New York ADA Alexandra Cooper's attention-that of a New York congressman's dive into disgrace following a sordid sex scandal.

When Alexandra discovers that the freighter victim and the congressman's lover are connected in a way that simply can't be coincidence, it strikes her that these cases aren't as unrelated as they seem. She unearths a secret that will not only shatter the entire political landscape of New York, but expose Alexandra to the darkest, most dangerous, and most profoundly disturbing revelation of her career.