Detective Anise Porter is the commander of a powerful investigative team tracking the cunning rapist-murderer of beautiful, successful women in South Carolina. From the prestigious suburbs of Charleston to the capital city of Columbia and the beaches of Hilton Head, Anise and the Violence Against Women (VAW) Team doggedly track the ruthless killer across the Palmetto State. Political tensions enter the fray when Charleston's egocentric mayor forms an inexplicable vendetta against the VAW Team and tries to undermine their efforts at every turn. Anise's stress increases when the Attorney General who personally appointed her to the elite position, has infringed on her promised "total autonomy" and sent his protégée, retired Navy SEAL Reese Bay, to monitor the team's progress in the hunt for the elusive murderer. When her best friend Kaye Stiles is brutally attacked and one of the VAW's own is targeted by the killer, Anise knows she's running out of time. She struggles to lead her team to the killer and maintain a strictly professional relationship with Reese Bay while battling her growing feelings for him. She has to overcome these obstacles and come out on top because the violence has escalated and another woman is dead. But Anise's greatest fear is that the killer will continue to evade her and return for Kaye.