Amarylis Coltraine had recently transferred to the New York City police force from Atlanta-but she's been a cop long enough to know how to defend herself against an assailant. When she's taken down just steps away from her apartment, disarmed, and killed with her own weapon, for Eve, the victim isn't just "one of us."

Her friend, Chief Medical Examiner Morris, and Coltraine had started a serious relationship, and from all accounts, the two were headed for a happy future together. But someone has put an end to that with a stunner to the detective's throat. After breaking the news to Morris, Eve starts questioning everyone from Coltraine's squad, informants and neighbors; while her husband, Roarke, helps by digging into computer data on Coltraine's life back in Atlanta. To their shock, they discover a connection between this case and their own painful, shadowy pasts.

The truth will need to be uncovered one layer at a time, starting with the box that arrives at Cop Central addressed to Eve, containing Coltraine's guns, her badge, and a note from her killer: "You can have them back. Maybe someday soon, I'll be sending yours to somebody else. "Eve doesn't take too kindly to personal threats. She is going to break this case, whatever it takes. And that's a promise.