There was a stunning blast of sound as a bomb tore apart the gate at the entrance to the home of James Dorchester, one of Winnipeg's wealthiest industrialists. Tom Austen stared unbelievingly as masked men with guns ran silently through the opening where the gate had once stood. Before he could recover his wits, Tom found himself and Dianne, Dorchester's daughter, being dragged toward a waiting van.

Dianne has been kidnapped by a group of terrorists called DEMON. They demand a ransom for her that Dorchester should close down his new heavy-water plant at Monarch, which they claim is in danger of polluting the countryside and threatening the local population with a leak of deadly gas. Behind their bogus concern for the environment, DEMON's real aims are much sinister. Tom is horrified when he discovers them, but how can he make the authorities believe his story?

In this exciting kidnap thriller set in and around Winnipeg, Tom Austen proves yet again that he can keep one step ahead of the police in the chase to outwit the criminals.