Mike Newlin, newly graduated from high school, is left to cope with his mother's distress, his girlfriend's anxiety, and an insinuating criminal investigator when his father shoots and kills a young co-worker then disappears.
Joseph and Celice, married thirty years, lie murdered in the sand dunes of Baritone Bay and, as their bodies surrender to the elements, their hands stay clasped, while their friends search for them.
Chaos reigns when a couple of hit men decide to make their strike against embezzler Arthur Herk at the same time that teenagers Matt and Andrew set out to "shoot" Arthur's stepdaughter Jenny in a high school squirtgun game called Killer.
Tulsa attorney Ben Kincaid, hoping to get some rest and relaxation in the Pacific Northwest, instead becomes embroiled in the murderous conflict between the local logging industry in Magic Valley and a group of crusading conservationists.
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Benholme, frequently accused of being too soft because of his tendency to see both sides of every story, finds his objectivity leading him down a very personal path when he sets out to investigate the death of famed Professor Unwala and all clues point to his own teenage son.
While Sara Evans is researching a murder case, she finds evidence that links the murderer to the Supreme Court, and soon she finds herself trying to save the escaped convict so that she can uncover the conspiracy that is killing some of the most influential people in the United States.
