John Waylan is a candidate for U.S. senator; near the end of the campaign he is accused of ordering and participating in a massacre in a Vietnamese village. The accusation kills his career, and severely endangers his marriage. When he and Kathy flee to an isolated cabin, he awakes one morning to find her gone. Questions are asked, answers are given or hinted at, as the tension and suspense build.

Detective Sergeant Malcolm Ainslie, a Catholic priest turned distinguished investigator for the police, has agreed to hear the confession of a convicted serial killer sentenced to death in a just a matter of hours. What he promises to reveal to Ainslie is the truth behind the crimes and the reason he confessed to the one crime Ainslie doesn't even believe he committed. What unfolds between the two men is a serpentine trail into both men's pasts based on the bestseller from master storyteller Arthur Hailey.