All his life, Dan Mariner just wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, staying "on the line" as a firefighter. But after long months of healing from severe burns he received in a fire that nearly took his life--and succeeded in taking his father's--Dan is asked by his Chief to return to Yorkville, his old home town, to assist in the search for a dangerous serial arsonist. Reluctantly he agrees, planning to stay a few weeks. Soon after he arrives, however, he is quickly catapulted into the gruesome world of the arsonist as new fires become more explosively dangerous and the numbers of unsuspecting murder victims mount. With a town full of people now depending on his investigative talent, Dan is drawn into the rush to stop the pathological arsonist.