New D.A. Katie O'Brien (heroine of Saigon Landing) has a real problem. A possible serial killer is terrorizing her Alabama community, and she and veteran homicide investigator, Bobby Franks, are struggling to decipher taunting "clues" left at the scenes of the ritualistic killings. Although she's a veteran trial lawyer with a background in psychology, Katie's unable to zero in on the arrogant but clever killer.

With the help of longtime friend, Avery May, Katie eventually determines that the clues are coded to successive sections of an eighty-odd-year-old poem. But this realization only produces a string of suspects with no clear evidence of guilt as to any of them. Even worse, a horrible possibility exists that other victims have already been assigned to the remaining sections of the poem.

Time is clearly running out for Katie, Bobby Franks, and Avery May