The body of the New Orleans PR man for the governor of Louisiana is found in his crumpled vehicle at the bottom of a deep ravine in the outskirts of the city. The police determine it was an AI-related murder and arrest his computer-savvy younger brother. His defense lawyer feels that there is a lack of evidence in the police's case and that the brother has been railroaded into the murder charge. He urgently engages PIs Jeremy and Monica Hale and their colleague, Detective Tony Vasquez, to assist him in proving his client's innocence.
A mysterious piece of evidence surfaces, eventually providing the first clues into what may have really happened. The investigators are led into the dark, dangerous criminal world in contemporary Louisiana and its links to a wide web of corruption and cybercrime.
A second, equally intriguing case presents itself to the PIs. A local psychotherapist, the daughter of a prominent New Orleans businessman, disappears one stormy night from her downtown office. The police have no leads, and their case is going cold. The desperate family turns to the Hales for help.
The investigators face many dramatic, unforeseen twists and turns as the two cases unfold toward their dark, shocking conclusions. But Jeremy and Monica also find that the unforeseen enters their lives in other troubling ways.
