A dead body is discovered in a locked room in a country house in the affluent Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. Nine people were present in the house at the time, nine people who saw nothing they'd like to report and did nothing they're willing to confess to.

A document that might relate to a CIA scandal in the recent past--or to a presidential election in the near future--is missing, and much sought after. No one will know exactly what it means until it's found. But would someone be willing to kill for it?

The key to this complicated puzzle lies with two sisters, two young women who don't quite fit into Washington's high-stakes political arena. Retired Foreign Service agent Richard Michaelson and his friend Marjorie Randolph find themselves at the middle of this whirlwind of political and personal intrigue, and must do more than sort clues. For the most challenging locked room you're likely to encounter in Washington, D.C., is your own mind.