For years, FBI medical examiner Dr. Jessica Coran's greatest adversary has been Judge Maureen DeCampe, whose brand of revolving-door justice has made enemies and headlines. Now she's Coran's first priority. The controversial magistrate has hit the front page once again - but this time as a victim.
Abducted from the caverns of the courthouse garage, DeCampe has vanished off the face of the earth. There's been no demand for ransom. No ultimatum from the kidnapper. No clues, and so far, no suspects. And each dead end is feeding Jessica Coran's worst fears. If it's not money the abductor wants, then it's revenge. And if it's revenge, then the nightmare is just beginning for DeCampe - and for anyone who dares to look for her.
Now, miles from civilization, in a deceptively peaceful stretch of the Iowa heartland, a stranger lies in judgment - and in wait. One woman has already been brought before him - condemned in his own private court of law. Soon, another woman will follow, lured into the dark hollows of his secluded little farmhouse where justice is served in the most unimaginable and unnatural of ways.