Book excerpt: The murder of Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Franklin, and subsequent investigation, thrust rising superstar FBI Special Agent Amy Johnson deep into a dark world where geniuses, deviants, and psychopathic killers all intertwine in a criminal intrigue. The discovery of an actual video of AUSA Daniel Franklin's murder results in both the attempted murder of Johnson by the primary suspect, and the subject's capture and arrest. The simultaneous discovery at Franklin's home of evidence of local police corruption launches Johnson on a new investigation, one that leads down a dark path of deceit, murder, and malevolence of a nature never before encountered, exposing the rawest elements of human treachery and debasement.