Detective-Lieutenant Matt Warner's Tragedy

Detective-Lieutenant Matt Warner's children died in a fire he arrived too late to save them. Shortly afterward, his wife committed suicide with his service revolver and took a part of him with her to the grave.

The Case and Its Clues

Alone and beaten down by the guilt of always being too late, Matt is handed the most difficult case of his career. Women are being attacked. They're beaten and raped, then given flowers and a verse of poetry. He's sure it means something, but has no idea what it could be, so he turns to the local librarian for help.

The Literary Connection

She's not only able to recognize a link, but also identify the verses as parts of Shakespearean plays. Weaving together the literary history and character motivation, it becomes apparent someone is after a specific woman and using the attacks to terrorize her.

The Final Confrontation

Finally able to determine the woman in danger, Matt is willing to mobilize the entire police force to protect her. But she doesn't want his help . . .

Will he get to her in time to save her life? Or will her death paralyze him with guilt forever after?