Five years after being sacked as Chief Medical Examiner, Dr Kay Scarpetta returns to Richmond, Virginia, as Consultant Pathologist in the mysterious death of a teenage girl. Gilly Paulsson’s death has stumped the best in the business. There is no obvious cause: nothing suspicious except for the fact Gilly shouldn’t be dead. Then Scarpetta uncovers trace evidence: Gilly Paulsson was murdered. But why?

          Scarpetta’s niece, Lucy Farinelli, doesn’t want her aunt to get involved and she also has troubles of her own. One of her operatives has been attacked in her home. And whoever attacked her has left clear evidence of his presence. It’s as if he deliberately lef traces…..

          For Scarpetta, what began as a forensic puzzle expands into a larger, far more alarming picture. But still the vital pieces are missing. Who is the person tightening a web around her and her loved ones? There’s still mystery behind his methods – but not his murderous motives. "Revenge" is stamped all over this one…..