A vicious serial killer is on the loose in Tennessee, and only Becker can bring him down. Every night, Coop reaches for Swann, his beloved punk, and clutches him in the terrible embrace of the prison cell. Afterwards, Swann questions Coop about his crimes—a bloody catechism that touches on every person Coop has ever killed. Of all the stories, Coop’s favorite is the one about the two girls in West Virginia, the girls he killed slowly and left in the abandoned coal mine. He talks about it every night, and when he gets out, Swann will tell his story to the only people who care: the FBI. FBI agent John Becker has made a career out of getting inside the heads of serial killers, but even he can’t understand Coop as well as Swann does. When his old cellmate celebrates his release with a new killing spree, Swann offers to help Becker catch him—but he has a few favors to ask of his own.