Joselyn "Joss" Cole, a burned-out public defender from LA, has opted for a quieter life in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. Her only significant clients are a group of fishermen suffering from a strange illness which Joss believes has an industrial cause. Then into her office walks Dean Belden, a well-heeled client in search of a lawyer to help him set up a business.
Within days Belden is subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury and, just minutes before testifying, he is killed in a fiery explosion on board his float plane.
Meanwhile, Gideon van Ry, a nuclear fission expert, is in California maintaining a database of weapons of mass destruction. He is troubled by the failure to account for two nuclear devices missing from the former Soviet Union. He has discovered that under a false bill of lading they were shipped to an American company called Belden Electronics.
Unable to locate this firm, Gideon is left with only one possible lead, the lawyer who incorporated Belden Electronics - Joselyn Cole . . .
