Denise Berg, a professor of psychology, and her molecular biologist husband, Gabe, expected an intelligent child. When Denise gave birth to Zack, they were thrilled. They were not surprised to find that Zack had physical and mental gifts but were astounded by their magnitude. By every parameter Zack was extraordinarily gifted, and they took pride in their genes and their good fortune. What they didn't know was that Zack's gifts were the result of more than good luck and Berg family genes but depended on genetic material from an unusual source.

Zack's abilities would ultimately attract others with less than benign interests. Professor Jorge Moneo had grown up in Basque Country, a place of violent confrontation between Spain and the Basque people's struggle for independence. When the Spanish security forces murder his parents, grandmother, wife, and child, Jorge swears revenge. He attacks the leader of the group responsible for the murders but fails to kill him. Subsequently Spain deports him to the United States, where his plans for retribution continue unabated. Jorge's obsession with revenge eventually involves Zack and his family.

The novel interweaves the development of a gifted child and his family and the political intrigue of Basque, Spain.