There's no escaping the sweltering heat when White House correspondent Laurel Stewart arrives in Somersett, South Carolina, and discovers that her best friend -- the vice president's protocol advisor -- has disappeared. As frustrated as she is by Detective Joe Gannon's skepticism regarding her suspicions, Laurel finds his smooth-talking southern ways and brazen bedroom eyes disturbingly, dangerously, seductive. With the homicide rate escalating as fast as the mercury, the last thing Joe needs is a stubborn, argumentative reporter -- particularly not an outsider from Washington, D.C., who triggers a sexual jolt at every encounter -- spinning her crazy conspiracy theories. But while he may not entirely believe Laurel Stewart, Joe can't stop himself from wanting her. Thrown together by necessity, drawn together by passion, Laurel and Joe follow a twisted trail into the darkest corners of the sultry, moss-draped city to uncover a secret someone is willing to kill to keep.