Shot in the head by an unknown assailant San Francisco private eye Sharon McCone finds herself trapped by locked-in syndrome: almost total paralysis but an alert conscious mind. Since the late-night attack occurred at her agency's offices the natural conclusion was that it was connected to one of the firm's cases. As Sharon lies in her hospital bed furiously trying to break out of her body's prison and discover her attacker's identity all the members of her agency fan out to find the reason why she was assaulted. Meanwhile Sharon becomes a locked-in detective evaluating the clues from her staff's separate investigations and discovering unsettling truths that could put her life in jeopardy again.

As the case draws to a surprising and even shocking conclusion Sharon's husband Hy must decide whether or not to surrender to his own violent past and exact fatal vengeance when the person responsible is identified.