The search continues... The lost city behind them, Annalynn Gallagher and Sam Abrams face the daunting task of identifying the other seven mantles, the ancient artifacts that can grant power - for a price. Yet while their task continues, an old associate makes a decision that will lead their paths to intersect once more. ...and a hunt resumes. An earthen cup has been stolen from the Smithsonian Museum. The item may be innocuous, the theft illogical, but a crime is still a crime and Detective Lance Roman has just worked the longest day in his life trying to pinpoint the culprit. In his frustration, he almost misses it - a clue that reminds him of something he'd buried in the files long ago. The past always comes back around... Things take a strange turn when the FBI asks for his help - on a case he'd walked away from after losing everything. No longer working homicide and unwilling to get involved in an investigation that had already crippled him once, he hands over all he has. Yet the FBI aren't the only ones who remember the case and who'd worked it. ...to bite back hard when you least expect it. A killer who is more than he seems is making his bloody mark on the world again - with Lance being the only person who can follow his trail. Forced back into the investigation, the detective is now in a race against time. To defeat great evil, you have to know it for what it is... The butcher has his next victim in the crosshairs, and when Lance deciphers the clues pointing to a clever writer named CJ Nichols as the next target, he calls in a favor from an old friend. ...and be willing to make sacrifices to gain victory.