Cat Ferry is a tough woman, but she's way out on the edge. She's been fighting a drink problem for some time and she's not necessarily winning. She's still haunted by the mysterious murder of her father. Her relationship with the detective is not going anywhere while he refuses to leave his wife. And now she's pregnant. Cat is a forensic odontologist. Her specialist knowledge of dentistry means that she is used by the New Orleans Police Department to analyze the bite marks that are often left on victims of brutal attacks. Now she is helping Sean to investigate a particularly savage series of murders, but something in the case is calling to Cat, something that seems to connect with her own, troubled life. The only chance Cat Ferry has to survive is to face down her demons, and confront a mystery of murder, corruption and evil that has entwined itself around her life like a snake from the swamps beyond the great house.