Three years ago, Scott Drayco left the FBI after taking the fall for his partner, Mark "Sarg" Sargosian. Now a freelance crime consultant, Drayco often helps law enforcement on cases, but he never imagined his estranged former partner would turn up on his doorstep, pleading for Drayco's help.

A coed at an elite private college has been murdered, and the victim's friend, Sarg's own daughter Tara, might be the next target. The killer left behind a puzzling music code at the crime scene, and Drayco soon learns he has two things in common with the murder girl - a music background and synthesthesia.

The case takes an even stranger turn when a second coed is murdered with a new code pinned to her half-naked body, and signs point toward a possible ritualistic killing. Then, Drayco himself starts received coded messages . . .