When a prominent atheist leader is kidnapped, ransomed and murdered, Detectives Goren and Eames interview the victim's granddaughter who was also kidnapped but survived and the suspects include more family members, including the dead woman's son - now a reverend with a prison ministry. However, when two of the kidnappers turn up dead, the investigators look for a double-crossing mastermind who pulled the strings but left no trail to follow.

Horrified Detectives Goren and Eames contemplate a car bomb blast that killed three young boys and injured their mother and surviving brother as they check out suspicious Arabic-speaking men -- and the family's controlling husband/father who works in a top-secret electronics firm. The police probe yields shocking connections when they discover the wife's earlier postpartum depression and questionable behavior of the dedicated dad.