A born-again, antiabortion serial killer is loose in San Francisco. The murder scenes area crudely staged crucifixions, complete with wounds mimicking the stigmata, and no discernible connection between the victims. Jack Oatmon, on a new assignment with the FBI in San Francisco, is immediately consumed by the investigation, and frustrated by the lack of any decent leads. He meets attractive attorney Susan Clemmer on a related case, and they delve into the dark world of religious extremism to uncover a decades-old secret that could lead to the topmost levels of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.