Robert "Smiles" Smylie is not a genius.

He feels like he's surrounded by them, though, from his software mogul dad to his brainy girlfriend to his oddball neighbor Ben, a math prodigy. When Ben cracks a riddle central to modern data encryption systems, he suddenly holds the power to unlock every electronic secret in the world-and Smiles finally has a chance to prove his own worth. Smiles hatches a plan to protect Ben from the government agents who will stop at nothing to get their hands on his discovery. But as he comes to realize the most explosive secrets don't lie between the covers of Ben's notebook-they're buried in his own past.