FBI agent Alex Cross is on vacation with his family in Disneyland when he gets a call from the director. A top actress has been shot outside her home in Beverly Hills. Shortly afterward, an editor for the Los Angeles Times receives an e-mail recounting the murder in shocking detail, signed Mary Smith." "The authorities fear this is only the beginning. More killings follow, and more e-mails arrive immediately after. Mary Smith is targeting Hollywood stars and power brokers, and she is getting better every time." "Right from the start, this case is like nothing Alex has ever confronted before. Could this be the plan of an obsessed fan or a spumed actor, or is it part of something much more terrifying? And how could a woman be capable of these vicious crimes?" People make enemies easily in Hollywood. To track down a merciless killer, Alex must navigate a world where the stars and players sip San Pellegrino at the Ivy as hopefuls hover around studio gates armed with 8 x 10 glossies. Everyone is desperate for a close-up, but this is one fan Hollywood could do without. Members of the A-list fear they're next on Mary's list, and the case catapults into blockbuster proportions as Cross and the LAPD scramble to find a pattern before Mary can send one more chilling update.