Two days before Christmas in 1998, David Stevens' Chrysler LeBaron exploded into flames in the upscale California neighbourhood of La Jolla. The 'accident' wasn't enough to hide evidence of homicide: two bullets unloaded into the skill of the thirty-eight-year-old dating-service employee. And he didn't have an enemy in the world.
The baffling case languished unsolved for three years...
Then out of the blue, authorities received a call from Ny Nourn, an acquaintance of the victim. She knew details about the murder known only to the police. She related a twisting tale of an abusive husband, a night of intimacy, a friend's sanctuary, a bizarre punishment of 'cleansing flames' -- and a motive for David Stevens' slaying that was even more shocking than the crime itself.