Maryland lawyer, Stephanie Ann "Sam" McRae, is strapped for cash, when an old college friend asks her to help a citizens group fight a controversial development. Though loathe to take a zoning case, Sam is persuaded by the unusually high retainer, but the matter become personal when Sam finds Linda murdered.

Finding the citizens group itself sharply divided, Sam investigates, needing to keep the client but not sure who to trust. When her investigation reveals a tangled web of lies, political corruption, and double-dealing, the search for Linda's murderer puts Sam's own life in danger.