When a bomb goes off in London's West End, Home Secretary Victoria Osborne has a desperate sense of having failed in her duty to protect the public. A young Muslim reporter, Ahmed Khan, also has deep-seated feelings of anger and responsibility. He persuades his editor to let him go back amongst childhood friends in Leeds to try to find any lead that might help prevent further bombs.

When Ahmed meets Victoria's daughter, Nattie, at a party, he cannot get her out of his mind. They begin seeing each other. But, as he investigates his hometown and finds out uncomfortable facts, his involvement with Nattie has everyone alarmed.

Knowing something catastrophic is being planned and fearing for Nattie's safety, Ahmed becomes obsessively determined to thwart it, whatever the cost to himself.