An apparent student suicide has brought medical examiner Sara Linton to the local college campus, along with her ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver. But the horribly mutilated corpse yields few answers. And a suspicious rash of subsequent "suicides" suggests that a different kind of terror is stalking the youth of Heartsdale, Georgia-a nightmare that is coming to prey on Sara Linton's loved ones as a small town is being transformed into a killing ground. The key to a sadistic murderer's motive and identity may be held in the unsteady hands of a campus security guard. Lena Adams was a former police detective driven from the force by the hellish memories that will never leave her; she survived the unthinkable and has paid a devastating price. Now the survival of future victims may depend upon her... when she can barely protect herself.