One of Susan's former patients, a news reporter, is killed, Spenser investigates.

Spenser is hired out by Hugh Dixon to track down the killers of his wife and daughters.

Candy Sloane, a news reporter that Spenser used to date, hires him out as backup while she investigates a credit card fraud ring.

Rita Fiore hires Spenser to determine if two-time loser Ellis Alves really did kill a college coed. Soon everybody wants him off the case, from the investigating officer to the parents of the dead girl's boyfriend; and a professional hitman named Rugar is trying to kill him.

Frank Belson didn't ask too many questions about the past of his new wife Lisa St. Claire, even after she suddenly and mysteriously disappeared one night. He brings in Spenser to help locate her, who begins to piece together her complete life story while submerged in the Latino shadow world of the town of Proctor.

As a favor to his longtime lover Dr. Susan Silverman, Spenser agrees to investigate the stalking of a theater company director, pro bono. But before he can get started, an actor is killed by an arrow in the middle of a play. Now that there's a real-life murder to investigate, Spenser and Hawk, get to do what they do best--even if it means death threats from the Chinese underworld, being ordered out of town by the tough local police chief, and dodging bullets and crossbows at every turn. By the time they leave the quaint ocean front community, the population has decreased by three, and live theater will never be the same.