A freak New York elevator accident kills four people, and reporter Barbara Matheson jumps on the story. But when she realizes one of the victims was her former intern, she's horrified. She shares her grief in her online column, only to receive a menacing--and anonymous--comment in return: "Sorry about your friend. It's often the case that innocents are lost in pursuit of a greater good." Meanwhile, NYPD Detective Jerry Bourque is called to the scene of a grisly murder. Nothing seems to indicate that the murder is connected to the elevator accident, but when a second "accident" occurs the next day, what looked like coincidence quickly becomes more sinister. As the body count rises and Manhattan grinds to a halt, a city must uncover the sinister forces that are making its citizens plummet to their deaths.