In a small Roman Catholic Church on Manhattan’s East Side, a man confesses to a life of sin. Seconds later, the priest is dead. Not long after, a second priest is found shot to death on the Lower East Side. With a much heralded papal visit to New York City only days away, there’s no doubt in Detective Sergeant Thornton Savage’s mind that he’s got a serial killer on his hands, one about to put the pope in his crosshairs. Especially when a threatening letter arrives at the New York Post, signed by someone identifying himself as The Soldier. With the New York archdiocese, the mayor, and the police commissioner all cranking up the political heat, Savage and the overworked Manhattan South Homicide squad are in a race against time to catch the killer before his cold vengeance strikes again. Nothing will stop Savage and his team—not even when their hard work uncovers something that could bring down the whole church….