An adult posing as another child abducts ten-year-old Petal Loma through the Internet. Kristen Thomas, the career driven tabloid news reporter, hears of the story and wants to propel it into national coverage. Kristen returns to her hometown of Greenville to discover the town is clueless as to the disappearance of the little girl. She slants the story using Angela Paragon's opinion of the abduction. America loves the little girl and so does the serial killer. His simple technique used to lure Petal is targeted toward Angela.