In a remote hill town in Italy, a renowned scientist enters the
confessional. A dying man, he pours out the secret that has consumed his
life for years - a sin of such magnitude that the shocked priest refuses
him absolution.
In a suburb of Washington DC, Joe Lassiter's only sister and her young
son have been killed in a sudden fire that engulfs their home. The
police believe it was arson; they soon discover that mother and child
were brutally murdered before the blaze was set.
As Lassiter tries to find out why they were killed, he comes to believe
others may have been murdered in similar fashion. And still more people
may die if he cannot discover the elusive connection that links the
innocent victims together.