When a violent and incoherent naked Jane Doe is found cowering in the street near the scene of a brutal murder, a pair of bloody scissors in hand, Detective Frank Blackburn is faced with a tough question: is she a victim or the killer herself? Determined to get some answers, Blackburn takes the young woman to the Baycliff Hospital detention unit, to renowned psychiatrist Michael Tolan, in the hope that he will work his magic and get her to open up.

But Tolan has problems of his own. One year ago today his beloved wife Abby was brutally slain by a savage serial killer named Van Gogh. And just this morning Vincent himself called Tolan, claiming his innocence, claiming he didn't kill Abby at all. He's convinced, however, that the young doctor did and promises to make him pay.

Could Van Gogh be right? Could Tolan have killed his own wife? Soon Blackburn is convinced that the murder he's investigating, the mysterious witness and the death of Abby Tolan are all somehow connected. And, above all, Jane Doe is desperately trying to communicate with the world to expose the real killer's identity - a killer who is equally desperate . . . and about to kill again . . .