In a sparsely populated area north of Los Angeles, the police are summoned to a medical emergency. They arrive to find a man sprawled on the sidewalk with no indications of injury, or of life. What happens next sets off a deadly chain of events that takes the FBI on a desperate cross-country investigation. In Capitol Punishment, Special Agents "Frankie" Aguirre and Art Jefferson are in pursuit of a white supremacist — John Barrish — who has in his arsenal a nerve agent so lethal that the smallest amounts can cause mass death. Barrish has struck before — in the St. Anthony's shooting, when four black children were killed in cold blood on their way to church. Now he is bolder, and his plan for destruction goes far beyond simple homicide. Barrish plans to strike a blow to the heart of the American government in Washington, D.C.