Icily applauding every conflict between bone-deep isms, Death inexorably beckons from a front-row seat. Someone's killing jockeys and scaring hell out of the rest of them. On his own, retired FBI operative "Jace" Maxwell pondered a possible nationwide connection between the questionable deaths of several topnotch jockeys. Then, Enrique Mendoza's horrifically mutilated corpse is pulled from a reservoir in the Midwestern town of Mercury. Instinctively, the local police force's lone detective, Lt. Robert Huber, brims with vengeful territorialism. Even so, he quickly realizes that his department is ill-equipped to skillfully investigate the heinous nature of this seemingly lead-free crime, and gladly accepts Agent Maxwell's offer of help. Blending into the barn area at Mercury Downs as a stable groom and hot-walker, Maxwell discovers that Mendoza's murder is likely linked to the only winning ticket for a $1.72-million Twin-Trifecta payoff. Assuming that Mendoza's murderer also is responsible for other jockeys' deaths, Maxwell and Lt. Huber profile a psychological trap to lure the remorseless killer back into the Mercury area. The trouble is, their plan must involve a gallery of track-side women and men whose contributions are vital, but which could jeopardize each of them as maliciously as had been Mendoza's fate. Unbeknownst to everyone, Richard Pierce, known as The Talon, had decided that the "Mendoza job" would be his last. Yet, antagonized by internal perfectionism and uncompromising self-esteem, he wrestles with returning to Mercury to put his indelible stamp of fear on those who seem bent upon defying his previous message. Envisioning this to be but a brief detour before vanishing forever, The Talon cunningly presumes that he can be more open and reckless than ever before.