For fifty-six years, a virulent sequence of horrific torture and death in war darkened Eastern Europe has continued to fester. Now a new series of crimes is about to upend the complacency of middle class Park Slope, where Christine Ferrier is attempting to rebuild a life shattered by her husband's traumatic loss at sea. When her neighbor, talk show host Maggie Jarratt, is bludgeoned to death and a second victim found, the police greet her defense of sexy sailor Jerry Jarratt with scorn. As old secrets surface, and a strange band of street musicians arrive to play at the annual block party, more deaths follow. At last, a fatal explosion and fire appear to bring closure. Christine, emotionally exhausted, flees to the shelter of her family in Newport only to find that infectious strains of the old virus linger and now threaten her very existence