On Christmas day, detectives are called to a crime scene where they find a young woman bound, gagged and mutilated in a horrific manner; then the killer turns his sights on Homicide Detective Molly Daul.

Caught up in a love triangle, young chef Heather Mallory vanishes; detectives and Heather's parents search for the truth in an investigation involving wiretaps, confidential informants and a dramatic resolution deep in the forest.