From New York Times bestselling author J. A. Jance, a suspenseful mystery from the creator of Arizona sheriff Joanna Brady and Seattle homicide detective J. P. Beaumont.

At first glance, what happens on the video appears to be a childish game: a teenage girl with dark, wavy hair smiles for the camera, a blue scarf tied around her neck. Then things turn dark and gruesome, and the girl ends up dead.

When a snuff film is discovered on a cell phone belonging to the governor of Washington State's grandson—a boy with a troubled background who swears he doesn't know the victim—the governor turns to an old friend, J. P. Beaumont, for help. Of the many horrors the Seattle private investigator has witnessed over the years, this one ranks near the top—especially since the crime's multiple perpetrators might well be minors.

But this case of an apparent juvenile prank gone hideously wrong has deeper, more startling implications, leading Beau and Mel Soames—his partner in life and work—down a twisted path of corruption and lies that must be exposed before more young lives are obliterated.

‘Jance beautifully evokes the desert and towns of her beloved southwest as well as the strong individuals who live there’ Publishers Weekly

J.A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the J. P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, Edge of Evil, and three standalone thrillers. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.