California, 1985. Four children, running through the woods after school, stumble upon a partially buried female body, eyes and mouth glued shut. Close behind the children is their teacher, Anne Navarre, shocked by this discovery and heartbroken as she witnesses the end of their innocence. What she doesn't yet realize is that this will mark the end of innocence for an entire community, as the ties that bind families and friends are tested by secrets...

Previously Hoag introduced millions of fans to Oak Knoll, a small California town that, in the mid-eighties, seemed idyllic until the See-No-Evil killer shattered that notion. It took FBI agent Vince Leone and a new technique called "profiling" to put an end to the trauma. Now, through Leone's pioneering science-based investigative skills, Hoag explores the early days of forensic police work.