Lucas Matthews owes everything to his mentor, Andy Garrett, whose guidance helped him realize his dream of becoming a firefighter. When Lucas scores the coveted fire chief position in Andy’s town, he’s determined to prove himself worthy of the role—unaware that he has become the target of Milton Carr, a man who feels the job should have been his.

As Lucas battles Carr’s insubordination, a series of chilling arson attacks rock the city. The fires aren’t the only threat—each blaze is followed by a cryptic note, taunting Lucas and testing his resolve, nearly pushing him to the breaking point.

Fear grips the city as the fire marshal is hot on the trail of the arsonist, determined to bring the chaos to an end. But when a major high school basketball tournament becomes the arsonist’s next target, the potential catastrophic loss of life could send everything spiraling out of control.

In a shocking twist, the arsonist’s identity is closer than anyone could have imagined. When the truth is revealed, it leaves the community questioning everything they thought they knew about the fire department. With his leadership and even his life hanging by a thread, can Lucas hold his team together long enough to survive the firestorm?

“I won’t bother asking you to take a seat. This won’t take long,” Lucas began. “Deputy Chief Carr, let me reiterate once again that I fully understand your disappointment at not being named chief, but that decision has been made, and the department is moving forward. It will be up to you whether you move forward with it or not. What you just did in there was highly inappropriate and a full act of insubordination. It will not happen again. What I am saying to you now is a verbal reprimand which will be placed in your personnel file. Any other behavior by you that constitutes insubordination will result in a written reprimand. In the event of another instance, the next step will be termination. Do I make myself clear?”

Carr seethed, his eyes narrowed as he glared at Lucas. His fingers gripped the folders in his hand tightly, his knuckles white.

Lucas waited, his stance widening, his fisted hands had moved to his hips.

“I repeat, Deputy Chief Carr. Do I make myself clear?”