BEYOND RECOGNITION: A strange series of fires is raging in
Seattle--white-hot fires that burn so cleanly even the ash is consumed,
along with all traces of the fires' victims. Brilliant forensic
investigator Police Sergeant Lou Boldt is back, battling the mysterious
arsonist. He is also keeping his eye on the Fire Warden, who seems to be
a little too close to the heat.
But police psychologist Daphne Matthews is more concerned about the
victims of the blazes, especially the smart and wily ten-year-old boy
who had a terrifying encounter with a disfigured, badly burned man.
THE PIED PIPER: In Seattle, they're calling him The Pied
Piper--someone who comes in the night and takes children away. To newly
promoted police lieutenant Lou Boldt and police psychologist Daphne
Matthews, it's clear this isn't about a single lunatic or random
kidnappings: these crimes are well orchestrated, well executed, and,
most chilling of all, occurring in cities across the country.
Boldt is the first to establish that behind the kidnappings is a
well-financed and brilliantly planned network, and his investigation
soon attracts the FBI, which also brings heavy manpower--and political
competition--that Boldt fears could slow them down until the trail runs
dry. As long as the kidnappings continue, there may be a chance of
getting the children back alive. Or is it already too late?
THE FIRST VICTIM: A shipping container washed ashore leads Seattle
television news anchor Stevie McNeal and reporter friend Melissa on the
trail of a scam involving the importation of illegal aliens. A career
stepping-stone for McNeal, the investigation puts her at cross-purposes
with the Seattle Police Department's Lou Boldt and Sergeant John LaMoia.
When Melissa disappears, perhaps at the hands of the Chinese Triad,
McNeal turns from foe to ally and teams up with the detectives on an
investigation that takes them from Seattle's docklands to the offices of
the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
