At 10.47 one Friday morning, successful LA psychiatrist Jerry Lomax answers a phone call that sends his life into freefall. The caller gives no name. What he wants are the confidential psychiatric records of one of Jerry's clients, a hard-nosed former LA County district attorney named Emily Ford, who is about to get the President's nomination for US Attorney General. Emily Ford has revealed a secret to Jerry Lomax in the course of their doctor-patient sessions, a secret which, in the hands of her enemies, could be devastating.
Jerry Lomax is bound by his ethics to refuse the caller's request. Except he can't refuse, not when he is presented with a cold and callous ultimatum. The caller has taken something of Jerry's, something Jerry holds very dear, and if he doesn't hand over the papers by 10 p.m. that night, Jerry will have to live with the consequences.
So begins Campbell Armstrong's taut and fast-paced new thriller, which pits one man against an unassailable enemy - time. Deadline will make you fear your own shadow, suspect your closest friend, and leave you breathless and alone.