Hailey Read has been a Manhattan based therapist for two years. She left her previous job, as an assistant DA with a perfect conviction rate in Atlanta, largely because of her last case. In it, Curtis Burrell Cruise, a failed artist, was convicted as the serial murderer who killed seven women, all strangled and posed post-mortem to resemble famous paintings. Upon the guilty verdict announcement, Cruise tried to strangle Hailey in the courtroom, an event which still haunts her and for which she is still taking anti-anxiety prescription medication. She is hoping that the memory of Cruise will soon dissipate with his imminent execution within the month. However, her anxiety increases when a series of murders begin to occur in New York that resemble the M.O. of Cruise and that have other personal connections to her. She eventually learns through second-hand sources that Cruise is only no longer on death row but was quietly released a few days ago pending a retrial. She is certain Cruise is the perpetrator of these new murders and is working his way to her. Through the process, Hailey, using both her skills as a therapist and lawyer, may discover other behind-the-scenes forces working against her.—Huggo