Andy Cooper, a veteran detective on the St. Louis County Police Department faces his most challenging cases as his son, Michael begins his senior year in high school. A professor is discovered atop the atrium at the University of Missouri and Andy meets his new partner, Jason Trimble, a rookie, at the site of her murder.
As autumn turns into a brutal winter, dismembered and frozen bodies are discarded along the interstate. The case is stalled until Andy gets his first solid lead from an unusual source, his wife, Gemma. When Andy uncovers the killer, he realizes Jason is at the killer's home-alone.
Andy's next investigation starts when he receives anonymous text messages from the killer taunting him. It ends with Jason and his new girlfriend running for their lives.