After the young victim in the bones case is identified, Bosch and J. Edgar are pulled into the troubled world of the boy's family. As Bosch's own trial escalates, his romance with Brasher takes a turn. And an intense confrontation with Raynard Waits forces Bosch to rethink everything.

Bosch travels to Las Vegas to see his teenage daughter, Maddie, and to gain insight into Waits from his ex-wife, Eleanor Wish, once a brilliant forensic profiler. Back in LA, Waits taunts Bosch as he begins backing up his threats. Bosch returns to a maelstrom as the simple questioning of a witness in the bones case endangers Brasher.

The true story of the bones murder is finally revealed, placing Bosch in hot water and stretching the LAPD to the breaking point. Bosch's own painful past leads him headlong into a showdown with Raynard Waits.