After a birthday party for the First Lady's niece at Camp David, the day ends in a scene of carnage in the girl's home.
Former Secret Service agents turned private investigators Sean King and his partner Michelle Maxwell are hired by Jane Cox, the First Lady, to find her abducted young niece. A violent and tragic kidnapping turns out to be a convoluted nightmare in which the First Couple's past deeds triggered a chain reaction leading to the abduction of an innocent child and the death of her mother at gun point.
But the dead woman is not the kidnap victim's mother, not in a biological sense. The girl was adopted, a fact Sean King is not made privy to because the abductee's parentage hides a secret that could bring down the First Family.
As Sean and Michelle follow blind leads, tragedy strikes closer to home. Michelle leaves Sean King to run the investigation on his own but later calls him to join her when what at first seemed like an accident turns out to be a homicide.
The sexual tension between the two, always under the surface, almost explodes in the face of overwhelming grief and guilty.
Fight for Justice
The answer to the puzzle before the seasoned investigators lies in the deep south, in Alabama, where a wronged father wants the truth to come out. He seeks his own version of justice and has put in motion a plan to execute vengeance.
For years engineer and Vietnam War veteran Sam Quarry had visited his vegetative daughter in the hospital, nursing a broken heart and gathering evidence against the First Couple. But he did not stop there. He set a trap for them to walk in.
Only Sean and Michelle stand between the avenger, Jane Fox and the President.
At Last There is a Break in the Case
Using his extensive contacts in the FBI, Sean is able to use forensics and investigator's sixth sense to track down the kidnappers to two Gulf War deserters and to Alabama.
There Sean and Michelle confront the harrowing story that drove Sam Quarry to the extreme.
Stopping at Nothing
Showing the determination that took her to the White House, the First Lady stops at nothing to bury the truth. In doing so she adds more dead bodies to the list of her victims.
However, when all seems to be in order at last, the ghosts rise from the dead. Jane Cox had not counted on Sean and Michelle’s relentless quest for truth and justice. She threatens and offers bribes to no avail.
Their case breaks on a second visit to the Quarry farm in Alabama, when a remark points the finger at the First Lady.
About David Baldacci
American thriller writer David Baldacci lives in his native Virginia. He is the author of fifteen New York Times bestselling novels. His books have been translated into 45 languages. More than 90 million of his novels are in print.
First Family is his fourth novel featuring King and Maxwell. The dynamic duo also appear in Split Second, Hour Game and Simple Genius.
David Baldacci is noted for his charity work. He is the founder of 'Wish You Well Foundation,' an agency to eradicate illiteracy.
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