In the half-built skeleton of a monstrously vulgar mansion in one of LA's most glamorous neighbourhoods, a watchman finds the bodies of a young couple - murdered in flagrante and left in a gruesome postmortem embrace. Though he's cracked some of the city's worst slayings, veteran homicide cop Milo Sturgis is still shocked at the grisly sight: a twisted crime that only Milo's killer instincst - and psychologist Alex Delaware's keen insights - can hope to solve. While the female victim's identity remains unknown, her companion is ID'd as eco-friendly architect Desmond Backer, who disdains the sort of grandiose superstructure he's found dead in. And the late Mr Backer, it's revealed, was also notorious for his seductive powers.