Following a message from his congressional colleague Mark Simonson, John and Kim are drawn to Meridian, Mississippi, where the struggle for voting rights is clouded by the disappearance of three civil rights workers. As Kim senses the Hive's presence in the town, news that Loengard is in Mississippi prompts Bach to act. Then, after being contacted by Etta Mae Tillman, John and Kim are led to where Simonson is hiding after escaping the deadly fate of his three missing civil rights co-workers.