As the body count increases and more paintings are recovered, DC Zander Ellery and his partner DC Isabel York are under increasing pressure to catch the killer the press have dubbed the Prayer Slayer. A few tenuous links are all they have between the deaths of three young, pretty women. The new Chief Superintendent is only adding to the pressure and seems to be picking on Isabel more than any other officer. Torn between his urge to protect his partner and his need to solve the case, Zander sits his sergeant's exams, hoping once they are over, he won't be so distracted. But a rocky relationship with his girlfriend and one more murder only adds to his stress.