Brilliant, brash, badass former FBI agent with a Yale law degree teams up with a savvy, sharped-witted attorney with Harvard law degree to solve a missing-child case when evidence points to the mother. Private Investigator Jake Shepherd is back, and Scarlett Kavanagh is his wannabe partner as they seek to find who checked five-year-old Faith Johnson out of school while impersonating her mother. A mother's greatest nightmare tears at the heart of Scarlett as Jake pursues truth and justice, using his investigative skills, tactical training, intuitive talent, and relationship with his ex-wife's husband (Jake's former FBI supervisor) to ferret out the facts. Mystery, danger, and risks ensue, along with sharp repartee and sexual tension in the first official case with Scarlett Kavanagh on the payroll of Shepherd & Associates.