When the daughter of businessman turned politician Simon Cummings is savagely raped and murdered, Max is at the top of the suspect list. With Cummings's reputation as an aggressive opponent of Max's mentor, Cee Cee now finds herself the lead investigator in a crime that points to her preternatural lover. In order to protect Max and the possibility of him being exposed as a shapeshifter, Cee Cee is forced to follow her superior's orders and distance herself from the prime suspect to placate a very vocal Cummings and to maintain the integrity of her investigation. But her tangled emotions don't make it easy for her to stay away. And neither does Max Savoie.