When a mother is killed, Lt Joe Kenda wonders if it's a robbery gone wrong, until a slew of hateful messages surface. Then, patrols discover a body on a roadway after an evident hit-and-run, but the victim's true cause of death turns the case on its head.

When a squabble at a store turns violent, Raymond Archuleta steps in to help - only to be stabbed through the heart. Lt Joe Kenda must solve the case with little evidence besides a bloody bouquet, and a sketch of the mystery woman last seen holding them.