For once detective Eve Dallas can look at her latest murder victim and feel absolutely nothing. For Trudy Lombard awakens memories in Eve she'd rather forget. A seemingly ordinary middle-aged woman, Lombard was also one of Eve's foster parents and Eve was one of many traumatised children placed in her haphazard care. But now – only a few days after showing up in Eve's office – Lombard is dead. A cop to the core, Eve is determined to solve the case, if only for the sake of Trudy’s grieving son. Unfortunately, the list of suspects should probably include every child who ever passed through Trudy's home. And Eve and Roarke will follow a dangerous path to find out who turned the victimiser into a victim...