First, a little girl is fatally beaten and her body left in Alex Cross's son's school. Meanwhile, across town an influential senator is found murdered. The only clue to both murders: a mysterious rhyme signed "Jack and Jill".

As the clever killer piles bodies across D. C., Alex soon discovers that no one is safe-not children, not political superstars, not even the president. As the killer's fiendish plot unfolds, only Alex has the skills and courage to find the truth. Now, all he needs is time...