When Holland Carter is called out to Chicago to help friend and fellow detective Sam Books, he is eager to assist. A series of brutal murders have occurred at a staggering rate. All the victims have two things in common: they're all recent parolees, and they've all been found with their skull truncated, and the brain carefully removed. Convinced that something else links the deaths, Carter jeopardizes his professional future to uncover the truth, pursuing a trail that leads to the front doors of a distinguished medical center. But the truth is even more shocking than Carter imagined--for there is another dimension to the whole affair, one that neither he nor Sam could have anticipated. . . .