When the nineteen-year-old daughter of the mayor of Dallas suddenly goes missing at the height of election season, the Chief of Police has a potential political firestorm on his hands. He assigns senior detectives Rob Soliz and Frank Pierce-partners known for their unorthodox approach to investigations-to investigate quickly and quietly. The girl's family thinks she's out on an irresponsible lark, but things start to escalate quickly when Rob and Frank find a mysterious Bible in her car with the word Wormwood highlighted beneath Revelation. A DPD computer search turns up only one hit: a transient arrested years earlier had a full back tattoo with the word inked in bold letters at the bottom. As the detectives follow a trail that leads them deep into the woods of rural east Texas, they discover other girls have been kidnapped, all young blond women, and find evidence that suggests some of them may still be alive.