In a world where the dead can testify against the living, someone is getting away with murder. To every generation are born a select few souls with violet-colored eyes, possessing the ability to channel the dead. Both rare and precious—and rigidly controlled by a society that craves their services—these Violets perform a number of different duties.

The most fortunate increase the world's cultural heritage by channeling the still-creative spirits of famous dead artists and musicians. The least fortunate aid the police and the law courts, catching criminals by interviewing the deceased victims of violent crime. But now the Violets themselves have become the target of a brutal serial murderer—a murderer who has learned how to mask their identity even from the victims.

Can the FBI, aided by a Violet so scared of death that she is afraid to live, uncover the criminal in time? Or must more of her race be dispatched to the realm that has haunted them all since childhood?