It's 6:00 A.M on a hot and muggy July day. A lone female runner is pushing her body to its limits along Duck Creek Recreational Trail, when powerful callused fingers reach out and savagely jerk her head back, snapping two vertebrae. Not satisfied, the deranged killer slices the young runner's throat, ending the life of a promising high school track star. Was she in the wrong place at the wrong time? Attacked by a crazed serial killer? Or was it a premeditated ambush by someone close to her, seeking revenge for injustices perceived? It is up to Lead Detective Brian Woodford and his crack team of detectives to weed out the crazies and lunatics from the list of suspects before their killer savagely strikes another unsuspecting victim. Old acquaintances reunite and young love flourishes in this murder mystery that unfolds in the scenic river town of Davenport, Iowa.