In the dark shadows of downtown Philadelphia, the body of a seventeen-year-old suburban high school cheerleader, clad only in her uniform top and with massive bruising on her throat, is found floating in the Delaware River.
When Homicide sergeant Matt Payne surveys the scene, he shakes his head at yet another vicious murder in a city that's suffering a record number of killings. And he knows this one, involving the petite, pretty daughter of a wealthy entrepreneur, will play long and loud in the media.
Payne soon learns that the father had his vessel outfitted with miniature security cameras. Almost the entire crime was captured as digital video. Despite some imperfections, the video shows--in painful, shocking detail--what happened. And who the parents feared was responsible: the University of Pennsylvania student, an ill-mannered and arrogant Middle Easterner with movie-star looks, who they had forbidden their daughter to see again.
Still, it's not case closed. The murderer has gone underground. Payne races to find the killer before he can unleash an even more savage attack.