When the horribly mutilated body of a young female student turns up in down town New York it would appear at first glance to be just another crime statistic. But the savage, ritualistic nature of her death causes aging homicide detective, Art Gardiner, and his partner, Gina Garcia, to believe they have a ruthless serial killer on their hands. Their theory appears to be well founded when the body of another young female turns up bearing exactly the same brutal injuries. It also bears the same taunting calling card left behind by the killer. With pressure growing within their own department, and interference from City Hall frustrating their progress at every turn, Art calls on the services of a respected Forensic Profiler to help move their case forward. He needs to evaluate the religious overtones of the case and get a character profile to help reduce the vast list of possible suspects. But with time running out there is only one question on everyone's mind - how many more victims will there be before the killer is brought to book?