John Pellam is a location scout travelling the country in search of schooling sites for films. In upstate New York, Pellam is suddenly center stage in an unfolding drama of violence, lust, and conspirace, which have a stranglehold on this less than perfect local.

A psychotic killer with access to the country's biggest data miner is using detailed information to work his way into the lives of victims, rape, rob, and kill them, and then blame unsuspecting innocents for the crimes. The perp has, in short, found a perfect means to literally get away with murder - until one of his victims turns out to be Lincoln Rhyme's cousin. Lincoln agrees to look into the case and in the process unravels a spider web of crime...