On a bright and crisp September morning, while walking a woodland trail, Rina Lazarus stumbles upon human remains once buried deep beneath the forest floor. Immediately, she calls her husband, Peter Decker, a former detective lieutenant with the LAPD, now working for the local Greenbury Police. The body has been interred for years and there is scant physical evidence at the gravesite. As Decker and his partner, Tyler McAdams, investigate further, they realize that they're most likely dealing with a missing student from the nearby college where Rina works.And when more human remains are found in the same area, Decker and McAdams know this isn't just a one-off murder case. Short-staffed and with no convenient entrée into the colleges, Decker enlists Rina's help to act as the eyes and ears of campus gossip. Winding their way through a dangerous labyrinth of steely suspects and untouchable academics, Decker, McAdams, and Rina race to protect their community from a psychopathic killer still in the area-and on the hunt for a fresh victim.