When the first body is found, mutilated and strangled on the riverbanks,Philadelphia homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano suspectyet another case of random urban violence. Then it happens again. Andagain. Carefully dressed and posed, each victim seems to tell a story sogruesome that Byrne and Balzano struggle at first to make sense of thekiller's dark and twisted imagination. But when they stumble upon acollection of old fairy tales, the fragile link between the murderssuddenly becomes clear - and with it the terrifying conclusion of thekiller's plan. Desperately, they try to anticipate the madman's next move,but as the body count rises, the killing spree spirals out of control...