In a trailer park an unemployed writer with no family or friends has been murdered-and someone drew a circle of blood next to the body. That's enough for some to conclude it's the latest act of terrorism by a group, The Circle, that claims to be pacifist. Detective Robert Philman seems to be the only one who notices that there is no connection between the victim and the group, but he doesn't have a murder weapon, clues, motive or suspect either. Dogged investigation by Philman and his team doesn't seem to be getting them anywhere, his bosses don't understand why he just doesn't blame it on the Circle, and the bureaucracy keeps imposing its policies and procedures that just distract from their real job. Circular Reasoning is set just a bit into the future: a future where marketing, PR, and spin have turned the police into just another corporation. And it's a future where detectives stalk databases as much as they work the streets. It could be our future.