Nora Carleton

Federal prosecutor Nora Carleton has spent years building a case against a powerful New York mobster. She finally has a star witness: an insider whose testimony will lock the defendant away for good. But the courtroom can be an unpredictable place. While the killing of a disgraced former governor appears unconnected to the trial, the fallout from his death makes a guilty verdict hang in the balance.

When a years-long case against a powerful mobster finally cracks and an unimpeachable witness takes the stand, federal prosecutor Nora Carleton is looking forward to putting the defendant away for good. The mobster, though, has other plans. As the witness's testimony concludes, a note is passed to the prosecution offering up information into the assassination of a disgraced former New York governor, murdered in his penthouse apartment just days before. It's enough to blow the case wide open, and to send Nora into a high-stakes investigation of conspiracy, corruption, and danger.

Nora Carleton left New York to become lead counsel at Saugatuck Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, where her life has become slower, more predictable. That is until her colleague and friend, Helen, is brutally murdered – and she becomes the prime suspect. In the months leading up to Helen’s death, she and Nora were investigating someone within the company who was using insider information to undercut Saugatuck’s investments. Nora knows this is somehow linked to Helen’s murder – if only she can see how.

Free of the threats hanging over her from her time in Connecticut, Nora Carleton is back doing what she does best: prosecuting criminals for the federal government in the Southern District of New York. But her latest case will take her down roads she never expected. Domestic right-wing extremists, powered by internet demagogues and funded from the shadows, have become a major threat in the United States. Free speech is protected by the US Constitution... but to some people, deadly actions speak louder than words.