Sixteen-year-old Geneva Settle is running from death. She may only be a bright high school student researching a paper on one of her ancestors, but someone sees her as a threat. Someone who will stop at nothing to prevent her from digging up the past. Someone on a mission to kill.
Lincoln Rhyme and his partner Amelia Sachs are called to the case. They may have tracked down some of the world's most brilliant criminals, but this particular hunt is posing more questions than answers. Where will their prey strike next? What is the historic secret he's so desperate to protect? And how can anyone catch a killer who leaves no trace?
To find the answers, Sachs is going to have to search a crime scene that's over 140 years old and attempt to uncover a secret that that may strike at the very heart of the United States constitution...
