U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport has his choice of cases to work, but misses what he does best, hunting the hard-to-catch criminal. A shooting at a drug counting house in Mississippi, one that includes a child, puts him on the trail of Garvin Poole, a vicious killer who has escaped capture for years. Davenport isn't the only one looking, however; the drug cartel wants their money back and has dispatched a pair of killers who torture and kill anyone who might know Poole's whereabouts. The chase will take them throughout the South, weaving from intense moments to quirky subplots that are a hallmark of author John Sandford's popular "Prey" series.