Journalism. Narcissism. Cannibalism. It’s a dog-eat-dog world at the infamous tabloid the New York Mail, where brand new pet columnist F.X. Shepherd accidentally finds himself on the trail of The Hacker, a serial killer targeting unpleasant celebrities in inventive—and sometimes decorative—ways. And it’s only his second day on the job. Luckily Shepherd has hidden talents, not to mention a hidden agenda. But as bodies and suspects accumulate, he finds himself running afoul of cutthroat office politics, the NYPD, and Ginny Mac, an attractive but ruthless reporter for a competing newspaper. And when Shepherd himself is contacted by The Hacker, he realizes he may be next on the killer’s list...

F.X. Shepherd is juggling a new job as a PI, while keeping up with his strangely popular pet column. He is hired by a congressman who has received death threats, part of the escalating war between the Republican Party and Tea Party extremists. A series of murders of gun rights politicos at a presidential convention ratchets up the stakes, and Shepherd must fight off his liberal parents, do-anything-for-a-story reporter Jeannie Mac, and a gang of mysterious gunmen.