In their careers, Detectives Nichols and Stevens have been faced with many heinous crimes, but few as gruesome as the murder of HILDY GLAZER, a successful real estate agent. Hildy was kidnapped, bled out and left in the basement of an empty building. To make matters worse, the odd assortment of clues point in several different directions. A painter's truck was spotted at the scene of the abduction, belonging to a man named ANDY QUINN. Before Hildy's disappearance, she was examined by an abrasive doctor, MAYNARD CURTIS. But most disturbing are the images on the walls... images painted in blood that forensics claim were drawn by a young child. Driven by that terrible implication, Nichols develops a theory of how these three seemingly unrelated people are connected. But to prove it, he's forced to consult with the most unlikely expert: DOCTOR THEODORE NICHOLS, his father. Their relationship is shaky at best, but they'll have to work fast; another innocent has just been kidnapped.