Lana Morris has always dreamed of becoming a guardian. With her investigative eye and ability to read minds, she's perfectly suited for stopping crime. But in a world ruled by men, she is forced to find another usage for her mind reading Gift. But when her close friend, Rebecca, dies under suspicious circumstances, everything changes.
Three years after this tragedy, Lana returns to her hometown to find out the truth. Her father is a Guardian Chief now, and Lana becomes his secretary to gain access to Rebecca's case file. However, when Lana starts her own secret investigation, a new murder happens, and this time, the victim is a local schoolgirl. Lana sees parallels between this death and Rebecca's, both girls being of the same age and having destructive Gifts. Lana soon discovers a man known only as Ghost has been murdering teenage girls.
Meanwhile, in light of the new murder, the Guardians become more involvednamely, Lieutenant Richard Laine, a man with a deep personal connection to the case. Lana and Richard immediately despise one another; Richard doesn't think women should be involved in detective work, and Lana no longer believes in the Guardian House's capacity for justice. But as Ghost closes in, the investigation becomes more and more dangerous. If Richard and Lana can't move past their differences, Ghost will claim even more victimsand Lana may be his next target.