After she's forced by her funding committee to host a public display of her gorillas, Dr. Grace McKenna's nightmare comes true. In this sequel to The Only Witness, Gumu, Neema, and new baby gorilla Kanoni vanish into the night. The only clue left behind is a pool of blood. Have they been stolen by exotic animal dealers? Are they dead? Or are they simply roaming the nearby forests? If the news of gorillas' disappearance leaks out, Grace will lose her permit to keep the apes. Detective Matthew Finn's efforts to find out what happened are severely handicapped by the need to keep the investigation secret in the gossipy small town of Evansburg, Washington.