A Massachusetts state investigator is called home from Tennessee, where he's completing a course at the National Forensic Academy. His boss, the district attorney - an attractive but hard-charging woman - is intending to run for governor and as a showcase she's planning to use a new crime initiative, At Risk. Its motto: 'Any Crime, Any Time. She's also looking to employ some cutting-edge DNA technology and she thinks she's found a 20-year old murder - in Tennessee. Solving the case would make them all look pretty good - right? Her investigator is not so sure - not sure about anything to do with this woman, really - but before he can say anything, a shocking piece of violence intervenes, an act that shakes everyone's lives and the lives of those around them. It's not a random event - is it personal? Professional? Whatever it is, the implications are very bad indeed - and they're about to get worse.