For thirty-five years the identity of the dismembered woman found under the Las Piernas pier has remained a mystery. What secret did she take to her grave? Southern California reporter Irene Kelly has uncovered a maze of forensic records and confidential files that suggest a motive far more sinister than anyone imagined. The discovery has brought her close to Detective Frank Harriman, and closer still to exposing a killer who will resort to anything to keep his secrets buried -- and Irene silenced forever.

Intrepid reporter Irene Kelly returns to the streets of Las Piernas to investigate her former college professor--a once brilliant academic now destitute, missing, and the subject of pernicious rumors linking him to a lucrative and deadly blackmail ring.