After a stint at the FBI Behavioral Science Unit, Jeannette Plaisance uses all of her investigative and profililng skills to help search for an elusive killer dubbed the "Garbage Man." The victims are young black males found during the city's maddeningly high homicide rate, so nobody notices a serial killer's pattern at first. But the pressure is on to nab the perp before the grisly news makes its way into a spotlight in the national media. Teamed with two dubious homicide detectives, Jeannette courses through the brutish streets of New Orleans from the Ninth Ward to the French Quarter, while close at home a family secret unravels and threatens to thrust her life into disarray. She goes through the most fascinating and frustrating time in her life, and things only get complicated as she draws in on the tail of the killer.