Attending a rigorous FBI training course in the US, Australian detective Carol Ashton should be enjoying herself. Instead, she feels out of her element - but is she out of her league as well? Things culminate in a bitter argument with her instructor, and Carol is shocked to find herself accused of murder. Framed, friendless and far from home, who will help her? Her only ally is a female FBI agent with a not-so-hidden agenda. But will there be time to find the real killer as the clock ticks down on her freedom and - in a state with the death penalty - her life?