The excerpts detail a catastrophic terrorist attack on the Glen Canyon Dam, which results in its complete failure and unleashes a massive flood down the Colorado River. The narrative follows Grant Stevens, a Bureau of Reclamation engineer called in to manage the crisis, as he races to reinforce the Hoover Dam and coordinate with authorities like the FBI. Concurrently, the story shows the devastation downstream, including a group of rafters caught in the rising waters of the Grand Canyon and vacationers scrambling to save their boats on Lake Powell. Ultimately, Grant pursues the environmentalist bomber, Jeffrey Calhoun, into Mexico, and the text concludes with the political fallout over the rebuilt dams and the newly restored Colorado River Delta.