Detective Absalom Kearney leads the manhunt for the Hangman who has left a corrections officer dead, a prison van empty. Hangman, the monster who condemned innocents to death at the end of a rope watches and waits to strike again. Abbie leads a desperate manhunt through a city driven to its knees by fear, matching wits with a predator as brilliant as he is elusive. But as more victims are claimed, a rising tide of secrecy, paranoia, and politics forces her to realize that stepping beyond the law may be the only way to find justice. Because with each passing hour, the stakes grow higher -- and Hangman's noose gets tighter." -- from book jacket.