When Kathryn Dance investigates after a panicking stampede kills six people at a small concert venue, she discovers the perpetrator has more attacks planned.

Colter Shaw investigates a mysterious organization in Washington State that is either a therapeutic healing colony or a dangerous cult under the sway of a charismatic leader.

Returning to New York City after their Italian honeymoon, Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs investigate a new killer who targets newly engaged couples terrorizing the city.

"Gabriela McKenzie's daughter has been kidnapped. In exchange for her safe return, her abductors demand two things: $400,000 in cash, and a document known only as the October List." -- Provided by publisher.

Just hours after the harrowing events of The Never Game and The Goodbye Man, Colter Shaw finds himself in San Francisco, where he has taken on the mission his father began years ago: finding a missing courier bag containing evidence that will bring down a corporate espionage firm responsible for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of deaths.

Forced to let a murderer escape so that she can save the life of an accident victim, Amelia Sachs, assisted by forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme, discovers that the accident was the first in a series of attacks by a killer who turns everyday utilities into weapons.