When a series of bizarre public murders occur, Pierce realizes that the killer is trying to send a message about inattentional blindness, but Donnie doubts this theory. Pierce has a trick up his sleeve that can prove his point, and they must scramble to piece together the clues before the clever killer can make any more examples out of innocent victims.

Pierce and Morretti plunge into virtual reality to solve the murder of Kurt Simpson, a man who spent most of his time in a massive multiplayer online game called Caleidoscope. After creating an avatar of himself to investigate the crime, Pierce struggles more than ever to distinguish between reality and fantasy.