Carolyn Sullivan, probation officer in Ventura County, California, has a lot on her plate. One of her probationers has just been arrested for rape, and she's got a court-mandated report to turn in. Then without warning, she's assigned a sensitive case that's sure to turn up the heat even more - supervising convicted killer Daniel Metroix. Twenty-three years ago, Metroix went to prison for the murder of a teenage boy. Metroix's file indicates that he's unpredictable and dangerous. But what's more unsettling is his claim that he's innocent - a claim that Carolyn tries to dismiss, until what should be a routine meeting erupts into an inferno that nearly kills them both. Now Carolyn is diving into a case that everyone else seems to want to keep closed...one that leads behind the glossy exteriors of Ventura's most prominent sons into the darkest corners of a killer's soul. Someone doesn't want the truth revealed. And that someone will strike at the heart of Carolyn's worst fear in an attempt to silence her for good.