What would you do if your community was under a murderous siege? Tyler Dodd, owner and Publisher of the Redondo Beach Dispatch, has been through this twice before and both times there was life threatening danger - in fact, Tyler and his loved ones became the targets of the vicious psychopaths. But with the outstanding work of Homicide Detective Ron Buckner, who is also his best friend and presumptive brother-in-law, and the skills of the paper's investigative reporters, they survived. But the pattern of pernicious evil that had started with the serial murders and then followed by the gruesome antics of the copycat killer has shown itself again. The question that seemed unending was: why? Why Redondo Beach? The beaches of Hermosa and Huntington occupy the coastline just a few miles north - why not there? Of course there are times when a question can be just a scratch that cannot reach the itch. Once again Tyler Dodd gets drawn into a series of murders that have been perpetrated in Redondo Beach - or brought there. The answer to the nagging question of 'why' seems to be getting more imperative. These acts of violence are not random - they suggest the presence of a larger more sinister entity. And making it worse is the perception that these murders take place within a maze of distinct possibilities immediately negated by just as many improbabilities. This maze is so full of twists and turns and distorted images that he wonders what it is that he is missing. Of course, where you find Tyler Dodd you will also find Dana Buckner and her brother Detective Ron Buckner. And in every shadow you can be sure there will be the beneficent shibboleth that is Ashton Tate - always ready to help and always far advanced in deductive reasoning.