Describes the workings of the terrorist cell that became al-Qaeda and the efforts of the Joint Terrorist Task Force who investigated the cells and their connections to Osama bin Laden.

Acknowledgements -- Authors' note -- Prologue -- Chap. 1. September 11 -- Chap. 2. The good guys -- Chap. 3. The first terrorist -- Chap. 4. The origins of a terrorist cell -- Chap. 5. Emad Salem, Ramzi Yousef and the first Trade Center bombers -- Chap. 6. Foiled again -- Chap. 7. World Trade Center I -- Chap. 8. The hunt for Ramzi Yousef -- Chap. 9. Discovering bin Laden -- Chap. 10. The terrorist who came in from the cold -- Chap. 11. Red herrings -- Chap. 12. Meeting bin Laden -- Chap. 13. Embassy bombings -- Chap. 14. The sleeping giant awakens -- Chap. 15. Politics in Yemen, and the Cole -- Chap. 16. Atta -- Chap. 17. The Hamburg cell -- Chap. 18. The forest for the trees -- Chap. 19. Preparing for the attack -- Chap. 20. After the attacks -- Epilogue.