Miriam Gordon lives in a fog of grief while working in a downtown public library branch. When a burgeoning love-affair coincides with her receiving a series of oddly threatening letters, Miriam's sheltered existence is cracked open.。After the courthouse is hijacked by Black Caesar, brother of Sean Samuels, who has just been sentenced, Judge Jaeda King must rely on her strength and skills to find a way to end the standoff, save the hostages, and make her escape.。