A series of bizarre and mystifying murders plunges Tessa Vance into a hunt for an obsessive killer while a terrifying shadow from the past threatens to overwhelm her. In her first case with her new homicide division, Tessa has to prove herself, especially to her new partner, Steve Hayden. She knows there won’t be any second chances. And this killer is clever, ruthless, and implacable. The grotesque clues left at the crime scenes lead nowhere. The murderer’s victims seem to have nothing in common. But Tessa knows that the deaths form a pattern.