Ben Marzan-Searching for meaning in his life, Marzan studies with The Imam and converts to a radical sect of Islam. He's the perfect candidate for a terrorist-American-born, assimilated, and eager to embrace jihad. Anatoly Shenko-A disaffected Russian scientist working in Siberia, Shenko is one of the world's top experts on biological warfare. But his wife and son are in ill health and he's in desperate need of money. Abdul Saidadov-A former Chechen rebel, Saidadov aligns himself with al-Qaeda in hopes of spreading the message of Allah throughout the world. Marzan, Shenko, and Saidadov, along with three other conspirators and the hierarchy of al-Qaeda, are part of a terrorist plot to smuggle weapons of mass destruction into the United States. To keep America off balance, they are prepared to sow chaos in Chicago.