In 1997, Detective Martin Cole was fighting a losing battle with luck. His wife had left him, taking his kids away. To forget the pain, he turned to drink. Then he was assigned to a by-the-book missing-persons case that turned out to be anything but. Before he knew it, Cole was trapped inside the world of a serial killer. The bodies piled up as the man the newspapers dubbed the "Poetic Killer" waged his war against decency. The people of Rhode Island were afraid and angry, and Cole was supposed to be the hero. But then the killer made the case personal by adding Cole's wife to his bloody list of trophies. Cole's young daughter, Jessica, unable to handle her mother's murder, was committed to an institution. Now, twelve years later, Cole is retired from the force and trying to build a new life. The last piece of the puzzle is the release of his daughter. Things are finally starting to make sense again. And then the killings begin anew.