Led astray by addiction, George Ferribee is found executed, then Lt. Joe Kenda learns the victim had recently been kidnapped and assumes the two crimes are related, but Kenda soon discovers things are much more complicated than he had expected.

A star athlete is gunned down just weeks before starting college, leaving his family heartbroken and detectives stumped; Lt. Joe Kenda pries into the victim's personal life and learns more about his last night on Earth.