On a quiet day, away from the hustle of Richmond, in a small cottage
on the Virginia coast, Dr. Kay Scarpetta receives a disturbing phone
call from the Chesapeake police. Thirty feet deep in the murky
waters of Virginia's Elizabeth River, a scuba diver's body is
discovered near the Inactive Naval Shipyard.As the police begin
searching for clues, the wallet of investigative reporter Ted
Eddings is found.
Unnerved by the possible identity of the victim, Scarpetta orders
the crime scene roped off and left alone until she arrives. What was
he doing there, searching for Civil War relics as the officer
suggested, or was there a bigger story? As she rifles through the
multitude of clues, a second murder hits much closer to home. This
new development puts Scarpetta and her colleagues hot on the trail
of a military conspiracy.