As the twenty - first century enters its second decade, foreign wars, the lingering recession and a caustic political environment are taking their toll on Americans. But the party hasn't ended for Aidan Cole and his friends, a band of savvy, if cynical New York journalists and bloggers who thrive at the intersection of media and celebrity. At wine - sodden dinner parties or in dimly lit downtown bars, their frenetic talk of scoops and page views, sexual adventures and trendy restaurants, continues unabated. Then, without warning, the specter of terrorism reenters their lives. A bomb rips through the deserted floor of a midtown office tower. Middle Eastern terrorists are immediately suspected. But four days later, with no arrests and a city on edge, an anonymous email arrives in Aidan's in - box. Attached is the photograph of an attractive young white woman, along with a chilling message: ''This is Paige Roderick. She's the one responsible.'' So begins an extraordinary journey into the dark soul of modern America, from a back - to - the - land community in the Smoky Mountains to a Weather Underground - like bomb factory in Vermont; from Fishers Island, isolated getaway of the wealthy elite, to the hip lofts of Manhattan's Meatpacking District.