She wakes up in the emergency room of Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital, where she was taken by her partner, Will Trent, who was with her when it happened.

It turns out that Faith has two serious medical conditions, one she knew about and one she didn't; both could end her nascent career as a special agent with the GBI almost before it has started.

Right after seeing Faith, Sara rushes to the aid of a woman who was hit by a car after wandering naked onto a highway in the middle of nowhere, and is peeved to find Will trying to question the victim.

Sara quickly becomes aware of the same thing that caused Will to involve himself—the woman has suffered abominably cruel torture at the hands of a sadistic man.

Will and Faith take over the case and find themselves hobbled from the start by the local yokel law enforcement, which seems more interested in grudge-bearing than in catching a deranged killer.