When the body of a beautiful young woman is found in the back seat of a new Mercedes on the outskirts of the small central California town of San Timoteo in 1991, Police Chief Paul Thibideaux heads the investigation. Called out of retirement to lead this five-officer police department, Thibideaux is at first stymied by the case. Not only does it take eighteen months to identify the victim, but much of the evidence just doesn't make sense. The case takes an unusual turn when the dead woman is discovered to be Jennifer Fenland, daughter of Senator H. William Fenland. Jennifer was kidnapped in 1972 and hasn't been seen since-until her body was left in the Mercedes. Now, Thibideaux must locate evidence from more than twenty years ago. This investigation takes Thibideaux from the world of outlaw bikers to one of the most powerful men in the United States. The police chief relentlessly pursues his quarry while dealing with reluctant prosecutors and interference from the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, and a beautiful woman who forces her way into the case. Thibideaux will stop at nothing until he has solved the murder or exhausted every lead.