A former Washington D.C. police cop out to prove herself and a young lawyer from a prestigious law firm meet after he discovers the dead body of a female partner at the firm. As they investigate the death, they start uncovering surprising secrets from both the private and public world of the nation's capital--and what began as a fairly routine homicide takes a terrifying and unexpected turn into something complex, diabolical, and possibly lethal.

"It's September 10, 2001, and Lady Victoria Wentworth is sitting in spacious Wentworth Hall considering the sad state of family fortunes when a female intruder slips in, slashes her throat and cuts off her ear. The next day in New York, art expert Anna Petrescu heads to her job as art wrangler for wealthy magnate Bryce Fenston of Fenston Finance. The pair's offices are in the Twin Towers, and when disaster strikes, each sees the tragedy as an opportunity...

In Ohneka, New York, a woman named Karen Brodie is murdered in a local park--and police name Derek Wyatt as the prime suspect. His loyal sister Abigail doggedly maintains her brother's innocence. With the help of Kyle, a charismatic new friend she might be falling for, Abigail digs deep into Karen Brodie's troubled past in hopes of clearing Derek's name and uncovers a sinister plot of greed, envy, and vengeance.

Fiona Claridge, a smart and stylish New England college professor, strives to pull herself together after a car crash kills her roommate, Mia Hardy. Yet Fiona's guilt and grief come flooding back after opening a gift-wrapped box left outside her office that contains car keys and a malicious note. Shaken, Fiona travels to her hometown to attend a funeral but is followed by vivid nightmares as well as her unknown enemy, who leaves another sinister gift...

In London, at Christmas time in 1870, a strange message in the classified ads leads the three young detectives to murders that appear to be connected with the Scarlet Rose Gang, whose leader was killed years before.