Two ordinary people - strangers, really - who meet during a chance encounter, suddenly find themselves attracted to each other in a most compelling, charismatic way.

Richard Nichols is an internal affairs investigator specializing in computer crime for a government agency. Paula Diehmes is an administrative assistant working in the same D.C. vicinity. A seemingly random meeting at lunch one Friday throws these two together into a cauldron of extraordinary emotional circumstances; and, their blazing romance in such a short period of time leaves them breathless - and, anxious - with anticipation of the future possibilities.

Paula, who is divorced and living alone, faces a challenge. Should she cling fast to her self-imposed exile to loneliness, one that has so far protected her from the emotional pain of fleeting relationships, costly bondings that seemed to always end unhappily; or, can she dare to break free of solitude's depressing grip by reaching for the joy of forbidden fruit promised by her increasingly prevalent thoughts of having an affair with Richard? Richard, on the other hand, is struggling, too: he's happily married, but long enough to be well aware of the sameness of its routines, and the boredom that sometimes creeps into even the best of unions. He is torn between his deeply felt love for his delightful wife, the red-haired Jenny, along with his strong belief in the sanctity of their vows; and, the irresistible desire to explore the magnetic attraction he feels towards the mysteriously beautiful brunette, Paula, whom he suddenly finds so intriguing.

Initially, they mutually decide to meet and just be friends; and, hopefully, simply enjoy some stimulating conversation and platonic companionship while they intellectually explore the forces that seem to be hurtling them inevitably together. However, the intensity of their emotions quickly escalate their times together into a sizzling series of romantic sexual encounters that amazes them both with the depth of their sudden lusts and love for each other.

So begins their spontaneous relationship, which is constantly interrupted and hampered by the dynamic parallel developments of a case that Richard's working on, one involving the embezzlement of seized criminal assets from the government. Initially presumed to be an accounting clerical error, the investigation slowly evolves into a nasty scenario involving the murder and slander of an innocent man, the shattered life of his widow, and the death of innocent bystanders during several assassination attempts on Richard's own life.

Although the pieces do finally get cemented together, after taking some extreme actions and considerable risks, it is not without some tragic losses and bizarre twists, a lot of politics, some old lives ending, and some new beginnings. Both Paula and Richard rely heavily on their friends and associates along the way, unaware of just how much their clandestine lives and sensual relationships are intertwined: Sarah, Paula's sexually liberated gal-pal; the hauntingly beautiful and secretive Brit, Shirley, Richard's assistant; the apparently straight-laced Mollie, whose smoldering passions no one could guess from knowing her day-to-day; and, Nels Darrow, a man whose soulless greed and nefarious companions wantonly destroy the lives of others.