A young woman is found hanging from a noose in a burnt-out barn... but who is she? Sara Bolten is the wife of a headmaster, mother of a baby son - she has abandoned them both. Marie is a London-based prostitute, who has also recently given birth. Alexis is a strong blind woman, working as a Samaritan. All three have disappeared, but only one is dead... The killer is clever - an arsonist, a man possessed, his motives twisted - and it seems his murderous thirst cannot easily be quenched. In a race against time, Detective Inspector Rydell and his subordinate, Sergeant Denni Caldecote, must track him down before the chilling screams of another woman can be heard.