When former Air Force Special Agent with the Office of Special Investigations, Jim West moves back to New Mexico his goal is to start an easy going second career as a part-time professional lecturer on investigative techniques to colleges and civic organizations. He never envisioned that a practical demonstration on forensic hypnosis with a student at a state university would stir up memories of an eighteen-year-old murder. When the student himself is murdered three days later, West finds himself ensnared in a web of intrigue that pits West and the small town’s authorities against a ruthless, psychotic killer.
An aggressive reporter for the town’s newspaper seeks out West to help her with the story but after the murder of one of her co-workers, her efforts quickly align with West and the Sheriff. As West works closely with the reporter, he wonders if this could be the first real relationship for him since his devastating divorce a few years earlier.
The killer, though, has other plans for her as he believes she has become a threat to his anonymity. The story twists back and forth, leading up to the inevitable confrontation.