The Invention Secrecy Act of 1951 is a little known law that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office uses to keep sensitive inventions from falling into the hands of the wrong people. Trevor Askew is an ambitious associate at a D.C. law firm and he has just been drawn into a national security crisis without even knowing it. Trevor specializes in patent law and his only client is Jeff Nelson, the CEO of a high-tech start-up company with an invention that the Patent Office has placed under secrecy. When Jeff receives the secrecy order on the morning of critical negotiations with a potential customer, he and Trevor are faced with the decision of whether or not to obey the secrecy order. They decide to throw the dice and violate the order. When the patent examiner who issued the secrecy order is murdered, Jeff quickly becomes the primary suspect. The result is a suspenseful trail of revenge, greed and national security that keeps leading back to The Secrecy Order.