Nine years ago, Claymore Beller tried to do the right thing. It was the last thing he did. In retaliation for his efforts, his mafia bosses laid waste to his family. Only the youngest-Cynthia-came up fighting.

Three years ago, Lee Maxwell made the same error. His wife and daughter paid for his mistake. In a haze of booze and regret, Lee disappeared.

Now, Owen Dunham is following the trail of the "Grudge Ninja"-only all the evidence is false and the profilers can't get their heads around anything except the obvious fact that the Ninja is extracting a deadly revenge for an old wrong.

As the Ninja gets bolder and far more dangerous, Owen is forced to recognize that he hasn't always made the best decisions. Even as he questions whether bringing in the Ninja is the right thing to do, the voice in the back of his head is telling him it will make his career.