Berkeley homicide detectives Barnes and Iris are called to investigate the murder of legislator Davida Grayson. A lobbyist for stem cell research, Davida has a long list of enemies. As the detectives probe further, they find that there was trouble not only in her political life but also in her private life and more, that someone has been digging into her past life. Is the reason for Davida's death political or personal? In her past or her present? Only one thing is certain, Barnes and Iris will have to work fast if they are to find the killer before he, or she, strikes again. John Wallace 'Jack' Jeffries, a legendary musician, is in Nashville for a benefit concert. Before he can take to the stage, he is found dead from a vicious stab wound. The detectives assigned to the case, Southerby and Van Gundy, assume at first it's just a random street crime. But as the investigation continues, and the pressure mounts, they discover that the brutal slaying is linked to dark secrets in Jack's past: secrets which have put a killer on his trail.