At night, on a cliff in the Arizona desert, Colonel Sam Sawyer asks Rita Kelly, "Do you love me, Rita?" Once they were engaged to be married, but Native American Johnnie Lonetree, Sam's best friend, shattered that. Now all three are together again at Altamura Air Force Base.

As a thunderstorm roars, Sam hears Rita's answer. Within seconds she loses her balance and tumbles down the side of the cliff. Is she alive? Why did she fall?

Sam is Chief of Security at this crucial base which houses Selene, a supercomputer designed by Rita to control America's missile defenses. Johnnie has been sent by DARPA to test Sam's security and Rita's programming.

Sam uses Selene's hidden cameras to spy on everyone on the base. With him, we learn the secrets of every character, including the psychological defense mechanisms they use to protect themselves from the slings and arrows of harsh reality.

Soon Sam comes to suspect that someone, maybe Johnnie Lonetree, is plotting to destroy the US in a massive attack. Can he stop it?