A woman in New York awakens knowing, as deeply as a mother's blood can know, that her grown son Jonas is in danger. She has not heard from him in weeks. His girlfriend, Vic, is also in the dark. We soon learn that Jonas is isolated in a safe-house apartment in New York City, pondering his conversion to Islam and his experiences training in Pakistan, preparing for the violent action he has been instructed to take in 31 hours. His absence from the lives of those who love him causes a cascade of events as the novel moves through the streets and subways of New York.
