In this unputdownable thriller set in the new future, a detective enters the mind of a killer to find a missing child.

To ex-detective John Barnes, the machine is a dangerous and abhorrent addiction. The criminal thoughts it embedded in his brain helped him stop a serial killer, but they left him dazed--with pounding, murderous impulses. Having turned in his badge to salvage what's left of his psyche, Barnes must return to the darkness at the request of his former partner. A little girl has gone missing. So has Adrian Flaherty, the detective in the kidnapper's shadow.

And only Barnes can hear the clues.

But the trail is more dizzying and more personal than he feared. The voices are revealing a secret only Flaherty could have known. They're also telling Barnes that he doesn't have long to live. To find the girl, he must listen closely. Because the clock is ticking...and Barnes's mind is going fast.