Brutal murders on successive nights have shocked the small town of Drayton. In their aftermath two young women are dead, two anguished families will confront a shattering loss, and residents must face the possibility that a serial killer lives among them.

To Brianna Cooper, a reporter for the Drayton Courier, even such horrific crimes would ordinarily mean little more than an assignment; but because the first victim was a friend, Brianna feels a greater personal involvement. Unfortunately, her reputation as a journalist is spotty at best: she cuts corners when it suits her, and at least once has embarrassed herself and the Courier with her nonchalant approach and indifferent attitude.

Brianna Cooper believes she can do better—can gather facts and verify sources, seek the truth and report it, play her role with a new independence. She doesn’t realize that simply doing her job may well have consequences she could never have anticipated, and that the absolute truth can present its own dangers.