Jack Salvo teaches philosophy one night a week at a local community college, but he pays his bills by working as an L. A. private detective. A local aerospace company hires him to investigate a small-time embezzlement. The company assigns a pretty, quick-witted security expert named Lilith Lin to work with him. It's a piece of cake - a direct route to the embezzler and a client with deep pockets. But another embezzlement and a pair of corpses expand his investigation into a labyrinth of espionage, kidnapping, and murder. Jack's life and Lilith's are at stake, as are classified secrets that could impact national security.