Deputy Chief Lucas Davenport watched impassively as yet another body was unearthed. It was clear to him that a routine murder investigation had become the search for a monster.

Associate Professor James Qatar takes in the gruesome scenes on his television in growing agitation, as he realises that his thin veneer of safety and respectability is being scratched away. Obviously, it would be prudent to cease his activities for a time, but the necks are too pretty, the desire too strong. So he kills again. But they are watching now, and his fear makes him careless.

As Lucas Davenport's case comes together, James Qatar's world begins to fall apart, and a deadly game is joined, one that neither player can afford to lose. Lucas Davenport: brilliant, implacable, and determined to stop the killings. And James Qatar: vain, damaged, and capable of anything when he has cornered his chosen prey.