Jake Powell and his partner Billie Keene traveled to Raleigh to assist Detective William Hitchens in capturing the Career Killer. While in North Carolina, they were unaware of a stranger who was following Billie. The stranger had actually been stalking Billie for quite some time and was planning to meet her soon. Meanwhile Jake was kicking himself for not following his instincts concerning Gary Wilson, the Career Killer. He had not been convinced Gary Wilson had really blown himself up. When he received a call from Raleigh about a possible copycat, he quickly agreed to assist and ultimately learned his instincts had been valid. While he and Billie were away, other things were happening in Las Vegas. Someone calling himself the Poet Laureate had completed his first event and was angry Jake hadn't attempted to stop him. He didn't know Jake had never received his poem with the clues, which could have saved the victim. When the Poet Laureate later learned Jake was in Raleigh, he was mad at himself for not knowing Jake was gone. He had wasted his first victim and more importantly his first poem. For quite some time Billie Keene had the feeling she was being watched. She was also continually losing things and couldn't explain the reason for the missing items. When she arrived back in Las Vegas, she was expecting to be picked up by her neighbor, Jane. She woke up in a strange room handcuffed to an intricate pulley system. She didn't know where she was or who had taken her. The stranger was waiting for Billie to wake up and realize how much he had gone through to make her his. How long would she need before he could take her out and introduce her to the world as his wife? Would he be able to prove his love and give Billie the life she deserved? Would Billie escape or stay with her captor? Jake got back to Las Vegas and was glad to be home. He wanted things to get back to abnormal. His first day back was not what he expected. His partner and friend Billie Keene was a no show at work and his mail contained a strange poem. Where was Billie? Did she take a couple of days off to catch up as Captain Andrews suggested? Jake didn't think Billie would take off without letting him know but maybe the Captain was right. Had Billie been abducted or had she voluntarily taken some time off? If she had been abducted, could Jake find her and bring her back? As for the poem, he'd gotten strange correspondence before but this one seemed different. What was the poem about and why had it been sent to him directly?