A man confesses to four murders--but will tell the police nothing more--in this stunning psychological crime thriller.

I killed them all. The stranger who walks into the police station says it again and again, but the only information he will provide is a list of the victims' names. Yet when officers go in search of the bodies, they find only empty rooms, forensic traces of blood, and more questions than answers. Could the victims in fact still be alive and held captive in some unknown location?

Sgt. Michael Monroe, an expert in nonverbal communication, has just returned to the force after an extended leave. Sidelined from the investigation at first, Michael keeps fighting to be added to the team. But it's not only his professional expertise that makes him especially qualified for this case--he has found a clue that may connect the suspect to a shadowy cult, one that Michael himself is all too familiar with . . .