Someone has a fetish for murder.

Detective Kate Dawson is willing to go undercover to catch a serial killer. But this time, undercover may be exactly what the killer wants.

Two very rich and powerful men in San Francisco have been murdered by a mysterious woman, nicknamed “The Angel of Death” by the press. Stephen Collins is targeted as the third victim. Naked, Collins welcomes a red-headed woman, dressed as a dominatrix, into his Pacific Heights home, and together they engage in sadomasochistic play. The play turns deadly when she produces a blade, hidden in the handle of her whip, and slashes Collins’ throat.

When this rich, politically-connected CEO is found murdered - shackled in his own private dungeon - on a foggy San Francisco morning, Detective Kate Dawson and her partner, Frank Miller, are assigned the case. Dawson was once an up-and-coming star of the San Francisco police department, but her daughter’s senseless death with Kate’s own service revolver put her on a downward spiral. Now, she sees the murder investigation as a chance to redeem herself. Miller, an African American who is a few weeks short of retirement, is looking for one last, big win. Their only lead is a provocative email from “Crystal Rose” with an IP address at the University of San Francisco. 

Before long, Kate's on the trail of a serial killer who uses the seedy underworld of porn shops, internet sex sites, and S&M clubs to target victims. She knows the only way to catch the killer is to become part of that world. Her investigation is further complicated by a psychology professor with a penchant for playing mind games. 

John Flynn is the three-time, Hugo-nominated author of the Kate Dawson thrillers, a series about a good but tormented cop who walks the dark side and knows its shadows all too well. The other books in the series include The Architects of Armageddon, Murder on Air Force One, Terror at G-20, and Merchants of Death.