The scent is unmistakable--gardenias, sweet and delicate, the same perfume that his beautiful first wife, Jennifer, always wore. Opening his eyes in the hospital room where he's recovering from an accident, New Orleans detective Rick Bentz sees her standing in the doorway. Then Jennifer blows him a kiss and disappears. But it couldn't have been Jennifer. She died twelve years ago . . .

Once out of the hospital, Bentz begins to see Jennifer everywhere, haunting and taunting him, then vanishing without a trace. Could she still be alive? He can't tell his new wife, Olivia, about the sightings or his secret fear that he's losing his mind--though he knows she suspects something is wrong. But Olivia is also hiding a secret . . .

When a copy of Jennifer's death certificate arrives in the mail, emblazoned with a red question mark, Bentz follows the postmark trail to Los Angeles. Then the murders begin, each victim a part of Jennifer's past, each grisly corpse pointing to Bentz as the prime suspect. Someone's been waiting patiently, silently, anticipating Bentz's every move. Soon it will be Bentz's turn to suffer for his sins. But he won't be the only one made to pay the ultimate price. For a diabolical killer has now made Olivia the prime target . . .