"In a small New England town over half a century ago, a boy is playing with his new toy soldiers in the dirt in front of his house when a shadow falls over him. He looks up to see a striking man, the new minister, Jamie learns later, who with his beautiful wife, will transform the church and the town. The men and boys are a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls, with the Reverend Jacobs--including Jamie's sisters and mother. Then tragedy...

Death is reporter Jack McEvoy's beat : his calling, his obsession. But this time, death brings McEvoy the story he never wanted to write -- and the mystery he desperately needs to solve. A serial killer of unprecendented savagery and cunning is at large. His targets : homicide cops, each haunted by a murder case he couldn't crack. The killer's calling card : a quotation from the works of Edgar Allan Poe. His latest victim is McEvoy's own brother....