Forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton’s latest case proves to be his most bizarre and merciless: A ravaged set of skeletal remains is found scattered in the woods of nearby Cooke County. The victim, a young male under the age of thirty, had been chained, hand and foot, to a tree on a remote mountainside. As Brockton and his longtime graduate assistant, Miranda, dig deeper to establish his identity, they uncover warning signs that a long-simmering hatred is about to explode in violence.

Then, in the middle of the troubling investigation, the unthinkable happens. Sadistic serial killer Nick Satterfield—the most frightening criminal Brockton has ever foiled—escapes from prison, bent on wreaking vengeance. And he’s had two decades to perfect his plan.

Killing Brockton isn’t enough. Satterfield wants to make his nemesis suffer first, by destroying everything Brockton holds dear: his son, daughter-in-law, grandsons—and even Miranda.

Desperate to save those he loves, Brockton is torn between the forces that have guided his life and career—the pursuit of justice and the quality of mercy. If he can’t reconcile the two, which will Brockton choose in his ultimate moment of truth?