At thirty-six, private detective Jared McKean is coming to terms with his unjust dismissal from the Nashville Murder Squad and an unwanted divorce from a woman he still loves. Jared is a natural horseman and horse rescuer whose son has Down syndrome, whose best friend is dying of AIDS, and whose teenage nephew, Josh, has fallen under the influence of a dangerous fringe of the goth subculture. When the fringe group’s leader—a mind-manipulating sociopath who considers himself a vampire—is found butchered and posed across a pentagram, Josh is the number one suspect. Jared will need all his skills as a private investigator and former homicide detective to match wits with the most terrifying killer he has ever seen. When he learns that Josh is next on the killer’s list, Jared will risk his reputation, his family, and his life in a desperate attempt to save the boy he loves like a son.

Nashville private investigator Jared McKean has a son with Down syndrome, a best friend with AIDS, an ex-wife he can’t seem to fall out of love with, and a weakness for women in jeopardy—until one frames him for murder. His DNA and fingerprints are found at the murder scene, his voice is on the victim’s answering machine, and the victim was killed with a bullet from his gun. To make matters worse, his teenage nephew comes out of the closet and runs away to join a dangerous fringe of the goth subculture. Now Jared must find a way to clear his name, hold his family together, and solve a case that could cost him his life.

Nashville private detective Jared McKean has spent most of his thirty-six years trying to live up to the memory of the father he barely knew.

One day, the body of a young Vietnamese woman is found in Jared’s office dumpster clutching a yellowed photo of Jared’s father. A few days later, another Vietnamese woman, Khanh, appears on Jared’s doorstep claiming to be his half-sister and begging him to help find her missing daughter, Tuyet. Still reeling from the revelation of his father’s secret life, Jared reluctantly agrees.

It’s clear that Tuyet’s path must have crossed the dead girl’s, but when and how? While the police have their hands full with a renegade bomber, Jared and Khanh form an uneasy alliance, following the trail into the violent world of human trafficking–a world that few who enter ever leave.