Bill Corde looks down at the face of the murdered girl and sees the horror of sudden death. He cannot know, as he stands there at the trampled, muddy scene beside the college girl's corpse, that his own life is about to slip into terror. He cannot know that everything he holds precious is about to shatter before his eyes. He cannot know that his career – and his family – are about to enter a new dimension of danger.

For Bill Corde, the killer is everything he fears most. For Sarah, Bill's wild, learning-impaired daughter, trapped in a world of frustration and ridicule, he may be just the person she's been waiting for. Someone who understands her worries and loneliness. Someone who signs his notes "The Sunshine Man." Someone she can run away with – even a perfect stranger.