A serial killer is targeting young Vanderbilt University coeds, one of whom is the daughter of a major university benefactor and Texas oilman. Lt. Taylor Jackson, Nashville cop, and Dr. Samantha Owens, medical examiner, face a huge public relations nightmare. Taylor, struggling with departmental strife, is asked to partner with troubled FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, who is back in Tennessee after a disastrous investigation accident. Owens is perplexed by the odd ritualistic evidence present on the victims. Together, they must work around the clock to find the killer before another girl dies.

Prequel to All the pretty girls (2007).