Rutherford's Property Crimes division is on a hot streak. Having recently attracted a string of New Science businesses, the town has had fourteen office break-ins in just five days, though nothing seems to have been taken. A series of threatening notes are left by an environmental group, and curiosity soon turns to alarm when a lead scientist is found dead at his desk at one of the invasion sites. As the small start-ups that received the messages are damaged and frightened by sneak attacks, Jake and his team must embark on a steep learning curve. But is the professor's death really to do with his pioneering scientific work, or is there more to it than meets the eye?