Receiving a grisly communication in the wake of an eminent Canadian paleontologist's disappearance, Kay Scarpetta investigates the discovery of a body in Boston Harbor and clues about other unsolved cases, a situation that makes Scarpetta wonder who she can trust.

"Chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta finds herself in a Northern Virginia wilderness examining the remains of two campers wanted by federal law enforcement. The victims have been savaged beyond recognition, and other evidence is terrifying and baffling, including a larger-than-life footprint. After one of the most frightening body retrievals of her career, Scarpetta must discover who would commit murders this savage, and why."--

When the sister of the judge presiding over a sensational murder case is found dead, chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, the reluctant star witness in the trial, investigates and recognizes telltale signs of the unthinkable, pitting her against a powerful force that returns her to the past.