"The creator of Kay Scarpetta, the most fascinating character in contemporary crime fiction, now cunningly reveals the heart and soul of a metropolitan police department. With Charlotte as her simmering background, she propels us into the core of the force through the lives of a dynamic trio of heroes: Andy Brazil, an ambitious younger reporter for The Charlotte Observer and an eager - sometimes too eager-volunteer cop; Police Chief Judy Hammer, the...

Angered over the Virginia governor's order on speed traps, the eccentric inhabitants of the isle of Tangier, in the Chesapeake Bay off the coast of Virginia, declare war on their own state, and it is up to Judy Hammer, the new superintendent of the Virginia State Police, and her aide, trooper Andy Brazil, to stop the crisis.