. Synopsis New York Times bestselling master of suspense Steve Martini returns, ensnaring defense attorney Paul Madriani in a web of terror and death being spun in the shadows of America's most sacred and secretive institutione"the Supreme Court. A writer is savagely slain while on a publicity toure"a literary provocateur who craved headlines, but whose last book may have gone too far. His revelations about secret language buried in the U.S. Constitutione"and hints about an explosive missing letter of Thomas Jefferson'se"may be enough to cause an irreparable tear in the fabric of the nation . . . and perhaps drove a volatile youth to homicide. But Paul Madriani thinks a troubled young man with dark connections has been chosen as a scapegoat to cover up something far deadlier that festers in America's political heart. And in the wake of the strange disappearance of a Supreme Court judge, Madriani must survive long enough to find the devastating answers hidden in the shadow of power. The latest book by a controversial legal scholar contains shocking information about the U.S. Constitution and founding father Thomas Jefferson. After the author is murdered, defense attorney Paul Madriani faces his greatest challenge yet. When a controversial legal scholar--whose latest book contains shocking information about the U.S. Constitution and founding father Thomas Jefferson--is killed, defense attorney Paul Madriani faces his greatest challenge yet. Searching for the truth in what appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder, Madriani's pursuit of justice pits him against one of the nation's highest public institutions: the Supreme Court. Product Identifiers ISBN-10 0061230898 ISBN-13 9780061230899 Author Steve Martini Number Of Pages 464 pages Series Paul Madriani Novels Format Paperback Publication Date 2009-03-31 Language English Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Publication Year 2009 Series Volume Number 9 .