Taggart and Cassie are eager to put last summer's tragic events behind them and the start of college is just the ticket, but it is proving to be easier said than done.

University life is certainly an adjustment, though maybe not in the same way. Taggart is enjoying the stimulating and mind-expanding fruits of the academic world at Truman University, but Cassie is finding the changes to be overwhelming and worries that her boyfriend is drifting away now that he is less dependent on her.

The discovery of a body hanging inside Taggart's apartment, an apparent suicide, shatters their quiet reality. Taggart becomes the prime focus of the lead detective when evidence that the victim plagiarized Taggart's old papers is uncovered. When a second hanging victim is found-someone who expressed displeasure with Taggart-nerves on campus fray, and the speculation about Taggart's involvement deepens. The campus goes into a full lockdown following a third suicide, worrying that a triggering environment has developed at the university.

Could the string of deaths be part of a larger problem at Truman, or is this the work of something-or someone-more sinister? Once again, Taggart and Cassie are caught in the middle, and their luck may have run out this time.