Kay Scarpetta investigates the death of investigative reporter and scuba diver Ted Eddings, whose body was found in the Elizabeth River where he was supposedly investigating Civil War relics. A second murder complicates the situation before the first is solved.

Under cover of night in Richmond, Virginia, a human monster strikes, leaving a gruesome trail of stranglings that has paralysed the city. Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta suspects the worst: a deliberate campaign by a brilliant serial killer whose signature offers precious few clues. With an unerring eye, she calls on the latest advances in forensic research to unmask the madman. But this investigation will test Kay like no other, because it's being...