Because their mother is usually high, Essa, seventeen, must be responsible for her sister, nine-year-old Puck, but when Puck disappears during a hike outside of Boulder, Essa must rely on her newfound spiritual strength and boyfriend Oliver.
Colorado psychologist Dr. Alan Gregory's already tense personal and professional relationships become even more strained when Michael McClelland, the man convicted of raping and murdering Gregory's sister, escapes from the mental institution in which he was incarcerated and comes looking for the people he blames for putting him away.
When a prominent district attorney is murdered, a homicide detective becomes the prime suspect, but as clinical psychologist Alan Gregory investigates the case, he begins to doubt the man's guilt, but must find a way to prove his suspicions.
Dr. Alan Gregory investigates when his future sister-in-law brings a sexual harassment case against her former boss, a highly respected Mormon woman who clerks for the U.S. Supreme Court, and three people involved in the case, including the accused, are murdered.