Psychologist Sylvia Strange is called to the New Mexico State Penitentiaryn to evaluate a murderer up for parole, but Lucas Watson seems seriously disturbed, so Sylvia cannot recommend his release - and that's where her nightmare begins. Lucas has powerful allies, and soon Sylvia finds herself being personally and professionally harassed, feeling sure he is somehow responsible. Even when Lucas is reported killed in a violent prison riot, the threats continue and Sylvia starts investigating the Watson family. Meanwhile, her friend Rosie Sanchez, the Penitentiary Investigator, is coping with a mythical prisoner called 'The Jackal', who harvests body parts from live and dead inmates; Sylvia's lover's young son is reeling after his father's death; a tough cop named Matt England is suddenly entering her affections; and a professional associate is bludgeoned to death in his home. As Sylvia battles for her life, a suspenseful, shocking tale of horrifying secrets, murder and obsession unfolds in the cold of a desert winter.