Awaiting trial in the Tombs is Sharif Jabbar, the demagogic founder of a Harlem mosque. Charges against his terrorist attack on the city were dismissed once, and New York District Attorney Roger "Butch" Karp is determined to bring him down on new allegations. Outside the criminal courts, Karp's wife, Marlene Ciampi, is pursuing her own investigation - one in which her sole ally is David Grale, the charismatic but deranged leader of the Mole People.