Disheartened from a failed marriage and recent divorce, and having a young son to raise, Vanessa Gale leaves California and returns to Texas City, Texas, her hometown, to reside with her parents until she can get their lives back together again. She is thrilled when she lands a job at the newly-built Jack's Bait and Tackle, one of the first of two new businesses to arise on the dike since Hurricane Ike wiped out the old ones. The second business is Lonnie's Bar and Grill. Its proprietor, Lonnie Hyde, is Jack Logan's best friend.

Just as Vanessa begins to enjoy her new life – finding she is very attracted to Jack Logan — bodies of young women begin popping up near and around the vicinity of the dike. Vanessa's father, Detective Joseph Blair, is convinced that Jack Logan – whose mother was murdered by someone with the same MO when he was a small boy – is the serial killer, and makes life hell for Jack and his friend Lonnie.

Something Instinctual is a story of murder, love, and the ability to trust even when the odds are stacked against it.