The White House is not an easy place to grow up, so when the president's son Cam Hilliard, a sixteen-year-old chess champion, experiences extreme fatigue, moodiness, and an uncharacteristic violent outburst, doctors are quick to dismiss the troubles as teen angst. But Secret Service agent Karen Ray, whose job is to guard the president's family with her life, is convinced Cam's issues are serious - serious enough for her to summon her physician ex-husband for a second opinion. Dr. Lee Blackwood's concerns are dismissed by the president's team - until Cam gets sicker. Lee must make a diagnosis from a puzzling array of symptoms he's never seen before. His only clue is a patient named Susie Banks, a young musical prodigy who seems to be suffering from the same baffling condition as Cam. Hospitalized after an attempt on her life by a determined killer, Susie faces increased jeopardy as Cam's condition takes on a terrifying new dimension. Is someone trying to murder the president's son? As Lee and Karen race for a cure to Cam's mysterious and deadly disease, they begin to uncover betrayals that breach the highest levels of national security