Joanne Kilbourn has retired from her university teaching post, and anticipates a leisurely summer with her family. However, the night after she and Zack have dinner with one of his law firm's biggest clients, the developer Leland Hunter, Jo and Zack's house is blown up. Moving into a loft in a slum that Leland is starting to turn into an upscale area of condos and boutiques, they are caught up in his conflict with gangs and radicals opposed to his plan, including one of Joanne's former students.