The bestselling author of The Thorn Birds once again pits Captain Carmine Delmonico against a dangerous villain and a difficult case. Without the help of modern forensic tools, Captain Carmine Delmonico and his trusted detectives must restore peace to their small university town. It's 1968, and amid the new era of paranoia, Delmonico faces new challenges. Sex and greed dominate two new murder cases--and a series of rapes seems to escalate to murder. For Carmine, it seems to be a case with no clues. And it comes as the Holloman Police Department is in turmoil: a lieutenant is out of his depth, a sergeant is out of control, and into this mix comes the beautiful, ruthlessly ambitious new trainee, Helen McIntosh, daughter of the influential president of Chubb University. As the killer makes his plans, Carmine and his team must use every resource at their disposal--including a team of highly motivated local vigilantes...