Forensic profiler Frank Black, a member of the private investigative organization Millennium Group, is asked to investigate a vigilante who uses newly released convicts to execute those he deems guilty.

An unidentified man in a van follows a teenage boy, Josh Comstock, as he rides his new motorcycle through Vista Verde Estates, a gated, upper middle-class neighborhood in Washington State. As night falls, Josh rides his bike across the dirt of an undeveloped cul-de-sac. The driver parks his van and approaches the boy, suddenly, jabbing a cattle prod into Josh's chest and sending him flying backwards into the dirt. When Mr. and Mrs. Comstock awaken the next morning, they find the corpse of another teenage boy in Josh's bed--and their son missing.

A sudden hail storm sends students at Washington Polytech scrambling for cover. But one of the students, Lauren, wades through the downpour as the hail changes to rain. She approaches a teaching assistant who has taken cover in a breezeway. Lauren reaches for the woman's cigarette-and suddenly bursts into flames.

Frank and Watts travel to Germany where they seek a legendary Holy relic.