The book is a dark psychological police procedural/thriller involving a serial killer. The story is set in and around San Diego, California. Michael Moran is a med school dropout. He disappointed his father who was a successful surgeon. His mother has taunted him since childhood. She calls him Mickey, which he hates, and tells him constantly what a bad person she believes he is. After her death, she haunts him as his insanity escalates. Michael stalks young women who have beautiful legs and injects them with his own cocktail of Rohypnol and alcohol. He abducts the women and takes them to the old Victorian house he inherited. He has converted part of the basement into a state-of-the-art operating room. There, he surgically removes their legs. The women's remains are dumped, openly, in various San Diego County locations. His trophies are hung in a walk-in freezer also built into the large cellar. Mr. Moran is cannibalistic and shares his treasures with his only friend, Samantha, a gray and white cat whom he loves with all his heart.