Frederica Williams struggles her entire life to overcome her dark childhood. She manages to suppress her twisted youth enough to obtain collegiate degrees in Spanish, but her mercurial mental state surfaces as she weaves herself into the lives and deaths of the men she encounters. The final attempt by a man to sexually abuse her brings about a vicious murder. At this point in her life, Frederica rationalizes that she is well-justified in any heinous act that helps her accomplish her goals. She struggles to move forward in her life and meets and falls in love with David Winthrop.
But a button from the red coat she has desperately clung to her entire adult life becomes evidence in a crime, even though a homeless woman now proudly wears the coat. Can the answers to this crime be found without jeopardizing Frederica's future?
