Arson investigators struggle to stop the fires before the killer murders another pensioner. The Special Crimes Unit, including Detective Alexandra Wolfe, puts their other work on hold to add extra staffing to their shorthanded counterparts.

The killer has yet to make a mistake. Frightened, elderly parents throughout the city are moving in with their children. The top brass is under pressure to stop the slayings, and to Alex’s shock, the department unofficially orders her to solve the case “at all costs.” That’s where Alex’s sergeant, Kate Brannigan, steps in to protect her detectives from the fear mongers pressuring them to solve the crimes.

As Alex and Casey investigate, they receive help from unlikely sources and learn to heed Virgil’s warning, “Beware the Greeks bearing gifts.”