`Turn yourself in,' Archie said. He pressed the fingers of one hand into his right temple, trying to slow the pulse of blood that beat against his skin. Susan was taking notes, recording everything. He didn't care. `I'll do anything you want,' he said.

`You know what I want.' She let that linger in the air between them.

`Tell me,' he said.

`I want you,' Gretchen said. `I've always wanted you.'

Investigative journalist Susan Ward is about to print the story of her career - proving long-rumoured allegations about a respected senator's affair with a young girl. But the day before her story is published, the senator is killed in a car crash.

Detective Archie Sheridan is trying to rebuild a life with his family. But he remains haunted by beautiful, ruthless serial killer Gretchen Lowell - the woman who tortured him then saved his life. Now she is safely behind bars, Archie is determined to stay away from her. And when a mysterious child leads him to two bodies in Forest Park, Archie must focus his attention on the case.

But then the unthinkable happens: Gretchen escapes. The only thing this gorgeous psychopath cares about is Archie - and with her on the loose, everyone he loves has become a target . . .