A full-fledged pilot for several years, Sharon McCone is due for the
biannual flight review required by the FAA. Her former flight
instructor, Matty Wildress, invites her to fly up to the small Sonoma
County town of Los Alegres for the evaluation. The test isn't due for
several months, however, and McCone suspects Matty has more than safe
flying on her mind. She's right. Matty's live-in lover, John Seabrook,
has been gone for a week, abandoning his small son Zach. In a desperate
letter John entrusts the boy to her care, urging them to go into hiding
immediately. But Matty is a professional and determined to perform in
the last aerobatic air show of the year. Despite the extra security,
something goes horribly wrong - and Matty's plane crashes before a
stunned crowd of spectators. McCone knows it's no accident and vows to
find John for Zach's sake. Suddenly, an ordinary missing person case
becomes a personal vendetta. Together with her lover, Hy Ripinsky,
McCone bypasses the authorities to hunt down the man responsible for
Matty's death. Her search will take her across the country as she
uncovers the startling details of John Seabrook's past - killings,
flight, and assumed identities. From San Francisco to Florida to
Arkansas to northern Minnesota, she'll unravel an insidious web of
corruption between a major corporation and high government, where power
and profit are supreme...and murder is a tool of the trade. And
somewhere in the midst of it all, she'll confront a killer with a heart
as cold and dark as the northern night.
