We consider a two-level atomic system, interacting with an electromagnetic field controlled in amplitude and frequency by a high intensity laser. We show that the amplitude of the induced electric field, admits an envelope profile corresponding to a
breather soliton. We demonstrate that this soliton can propagate with any frequency shift with respect to that of the control laser, except a critical frequency, at which the system undergoes a structural discontinuity that transforms the breather in a rogue wave. A mechanism of generation of rogue waves by means of an intense laser field is thus revealed.
