After two Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States are killed by an assassin named Khamel, Tulane University law student Darby Shaw writes a Brief (law) detailing her theory on why they were killed. She gives the brief to her law professor Thomas Callahan, who in turn gives a copy to Gavin Verheek, special counsel to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Callahan is killed by a car bomb; Darby manages to avoid the same fate and is subsequently attacked by an unknown assailant. Realizing that her brief was accurate, she goes into hiding and reaches out to Verheek for assistance.