With the murders of the entire Hennley family, Sheriff Suzan Clay is left with a crime scene unlike any she has ever dealt with. The savagery of the killer is something the small community of Kodiak Basin, Alaska, has never seen before. With nowhere else to turn, the sheriff is forced to enlist the help of the FBI. Special Agent Mickey Parsons of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit receives the sheriff's request and flies to Alaska to help in the investigation.

This is Reaper speaking. So begins an anonymous letter published in a Utah newspaper after a young couple is viciously murdered. Tooele County sheriff Elizabeth Gray leads the investigation into the double homicide, which is eerily reminiscent of a string of brutal killings years ago. When the letter leads detectives to yet another body, Gray calls on an old friend for help.

How do you know whether a real-world situation calls for a storybook hero? Is there such a thing as a knight in shining armor, or does every good deed come with unintended consequences? With chilling insight, five bestselling crime writers explore what it means to rise to the occasion—and the space between intentions and results.

The Cheyenne Police Department doesn't handle many murders. So when a woman is found mutilated and crucified, detective Kyle Dixon catches a case where all the evidence has long since been destroyed. Any detective would find it a difficult investigation, but to make matters worse, Dixon is paired with Ethan Baudin: a new detective in the unit who doesn't believe the law should apply to those that chase monsters. They find that the murder is connected to a rash of fraternity rapes and the case becomes highly publicized and politically charged. 

A lethal pathogen appears on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Dr. Samantha Bower of the Centers for Disease Control is handed the case and asked to investigate its origins and containment. Samantha discovers a lethal pathogen unlike any she has encountered in her lifetime. Extremely contagious with a mortality rate higher than any disease ever recorded, it is an extinction level event. A man with an intimate knowledge of the microorganism offers her help. But Samantha Bower begins to suspect he is not who he says he is.

A killer stalks the city of San Diego, brutally slaying women on the fringes of society. Homicide detective Jon Stanton's former partner was the original detective assigned to the case - before he was discovered to be one of San Diego's most ruthless serial killers. Unable to see him for what he was, Stanton blames himself for the murders committed, swearing to never wear the badge again. But with a depraved killer eluding the best SDPD has to offer, Stanton must once again fight to uncover a killer that leaves no evidence behind.

The Civil War has just ended and world-weary Sheriff Jesse Smith likes his town quiet and peaceful. One night, the body of a young woman is found torn apart, and that peace is shattered as it dawns on him that a predator is among them. With little to go on, all the men in the town are potential suspects, and Jesse begins an investigation that spans the social spectrum. Unable to find the killer, the mayor goes against Jesse's wishes and brings in bounty hunters. But the cure may be more dangerous than the disease.

A serial murderer nicknamed the Blood Dahlia has been terrorizing the quiet suburbs of Pennsylvania. Brutally mutilating his victims in the fashion of the most famous murder in Hollywood, the killer leaves no trace behind. The FBI's elite Behavioral Science Unit, the section responsible for the study and investigation of serial murder, has little evidence on which to go, until they meet Sarah King. Sarah, a mysterious outcast of the Pennsylvania Amish community, claims she has a unique ability: She can speak to the dead. And the victims of the Blood Dahlia are calling out to her. 

Ruthless defense attorney Tatum Graham has been living large in Miami, but when his recently acquitted client claims another victim, Tatum has a crisis of conscience. Disillusioned, he heads to his small Utah hometown for a simpler life...but that’s not what he finds. Soon after he arrives, Tatum’s childhood crush offers him a job at the county attorney’s office and assigns him a murder case. 

It is six years since special agent Samuel Lynch left the FBI following the disappearance of his son, Daniel. Lynch believes an underground organisation known as The Railroad is responsible and has never stopped searching.