A quiet New England town becomes the site of a grisly murder and assault, leaving a young man dead and his girlfriend in critical condition. Sam Cordell, head surgeon and medical examiner at the local hospital, senses something isn't quite normal about the attacker, but barely a day later, another woman is savagely assaulted and killed. With the realization that a maniac is on the loose, Sam, with the help of police chief Hank Walden and newspaper columnist Laura Kincaid, must unravel the mystery before additional murders occur.