In the still shadows of the confessional, the penitent kneels and makes a bone-chilling disclosure: ''Bless me, Father, for I will sin.'' Slowly, tauntingly, the man describes his murderous past - how he stalked his victim, worked his way into her life, and then took that life in a violent rage - and his plan to kill again. Only this time, he has raised the stakes in his twisted game, daring authorities to catch him if they can. This time, he has revealed the name of his next intended victim. ''I''m a heartbreaker. And I do so love a challenge.'' Agent Nick Buchanan has come face-to-face with society''s worst monsters and depraved minds in his work for one of the FBI''s most elite units. He''s about to take a much-needed vacation from his high-stress job, when he''s called on to stop the killer who has mockingly confessed to the deadly crime he''s going to commit. Nick can''t refuse - for this time the threat has hit close to home. The intended victim is his best friend''s sister. Soon he is caught up in an intricate chase with one of the most devious psychopaths of his career - in a case that suddenly, unexpectedly, pulls him in like no other.
