A ragged-looking man walks into a popular gay nightclub in downtown Austin, leaving a box at the bar. Hours later the proprietor opens the box, triggering a bomb explosion. Several people are killed and many more injured. Two weeks later, another gay bar is bombed resulting in more deaths and carnage. Pastor Matt Hayden’s new home is in Austin, where he resides under the roof of a gracious elderly woman and two other boarders: together they’ve formed a cheerful little family. When one of his housemates is arrested for the bombings and charged with seven counts of murder, Matt is forced to put on his old cop’s hat to find the real culprit. He discovers that the seed for the bombings was planted over fifty years ago, and it had everything to do with the elderly woman who has taken Matt under her wing. He is forced to enter the dangerous world of religious radicalism, political blackmail, and two power-hungry oil tycoons who will kill anyone who gets in their way—including Matt.