When carefree restaurant worker Donald Ott is found shot to death on Christmas Day, friends tell police he didn't have an enemy in the world. Then Lt. Joe Kenda learns of a relative with a long criminal history who might hold the key to the mystery.

At the bottom of a steep ravine, joggers discover a body mutilated beyond recognition. To catch a ruthless maniac, Lt. Joe Kenda must first solve the puzzle of the victim's identity, then piece together the ill-fated love triangle that led to his demise.