As he watches a potentially fatal hostage situation unfold through the scope of his sniper rifle, Massachusetts State Trooper Bobby Dodge knows that he may be all that stands between life and death. But from the moment Bobby pulls the trigger, killing an armed man holding his own wife and child hostage, it may be Bobby's own life that is lost. Detective D. D. Warren's investigation into the shooting leads her to the impossibly beautiful young widow, Catherine Rose Gagnon, and the darkness in her past. Even as the truth behind the facade of this wealthy Boston family's life is revealed, the body count rises. And with a sadistic, vengeful killer newly released from prison, everyone must be on their guard. For he strikes the solitary wanderer - and no one can stay protected forever...