Ashley Montague is nearing the end of her police training -- but nothing has prepared this rookie for the rite of passage that will take her on a deadly ride into the underbelly of Miami's drug world. It begins with the shocking discovery of a body on the highway and her glimpse of a mysterious hooded figure watching from the side of the road.

At another crime scene in the heart of the Everglades, Detective Jake Dilessio stares at the body of a mutilated woman -- the victim identical to the victims of a cult leader he had put behind bars five years ago. Is this a copycat killing, or have his deepest fears been realized? Is the wrong man behind bars and the real killer still on the hunt?

Ashley's investigation into the highway incident shockingly reveals a connection to Dilessio's case. Now she needs answers badly enough to turn to an obsessed cop willing to do whatever it takes to get to the truth in a conspiracy that has stayed one step ahead of him for five years.

The last thing they want or need is the electric pull of desire as they are dragged deeper into a dark, dangerous world of corruption and evil, where a callous traitor in the ranks of the police force and a cold, calculating mastermind of terror are waiting for them. Now, with time running out and their lives on the line. Ashley and Jake have everything to fight for . . . and everything to lose.