It's a newspaper mantra—the most gruesome stories always run on the front page to get people's attention.

But when Corina Vasquez lands a bloody lead story, she attracts the attention of a killer.

Newly promoted as the assistant to Matthew Henderson, California's Valley Voice investigative reporter, Corina wants only to prove to her boss, her coworkers—and herself— that she's the right choice for the job. When the body of the city's first woman mayor is discovered in a dusty vineyard—and her boss is nowhere to be found—Corina gets her chance.

Then a second brutal murder connects to the first. As she unearths the details around both killings, Corina begins to suspect that she's merely skimming the surface of a very deep conspiracy. And only one person can help her— acting mayor Wes Shaw, the man who broke her heart.

Wes wants her back. Henderson wants her off the story. And as her reporting of the case thrusts her into the limelight, Corina realizes she's become a target for an unpredictable—and desperate—enemy.