When officers discover the severed head of a woman in a dumpster in the quaint town of Oxford, North Carolina, the case falls to Oxford Police Department detectives Bob Kelly and Antoine "Tony" Duval. The mismatched pair must work together to solve this gruesome crime. Bob, an experienced detective, fends for himself after his son overdoes, and his wife leaves him. Tony, recently transferred in from New Orleans to Oxford, routinely insults the crime scene techs and anyone within earshot. Bob and Tony quickly realize they're hunting a psychopathic serial killer who loathes women lawyers.

With more gruesome finds of body parts, the FBI sends in Agent Augusta "Gus" Bullock and profiler Felix Fulcher. The agents, along with Lt Katie O'Connor and Sgt Walter Johnson from the Granville County Sheriff's Office, ramp up the investigation searching for a suspect with expert knife skills and burning desire to cut up the women.

Despite these combined investigative forces, the community is paralyzed by fear. Tensions mount even further when the killer taunts the investigation team. Will they solve the case before the killer strikes again? Is it someone who is a stranger-or could it be someone hidden in plain sight behind a small-town smile?

Katherine Burnette is a former federal and state prosecutor. Burnette graduated from Wake Forest University with a BA degree in English and Politics and a JD degree. In 2019, she received her MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte. Her work has appeared in Flying South, Red Fez and Sky Island Journal. She is a state district court judge and lives in Oxford, North Carolina.