In Montecito, California, a series of natural disasters culminates in a massive mudslide and untold numbers of missing and dead. Angela Garcia, found buried in the mud, is considered one of the casualties, until an autopsy determines she died from a gunshot wound.

Detectives Ron Jackson and Mary Ann McDonald can find no motive for anyone to murder the respected child services caseworker—until they discover that eight children, all last seen in the custody of Angela, have vanished without a trace.

Tensions mount as each new piece of evidence leads them nowhere. Suspects in the case end up dead. A powerful politician questions the detectives’ competence. The police chief, up for re-election, demands the case be solved—or else.

To save their careers and solve the case, Jackson and McDonald race to find Angela’s drug dealing brother, the only one who might have the answers.