Beneath Forbidden Ground

Over a span of two or three days, during the muggy spring of 1991, four attractive young women vanish somewhere on the western outskirts of Houston, Texas. Nothing connects the four women, other than the fact their vehicles were discovered abandoned, scattered over outlying areas of western Harris County and beyond. With the passing of the years, although no bodies were ever found, it was presumed they were the victims of homicides. Their cases remain open, yet buried deep within the files of the Harris County Sheriff's Department. It is now 2001. Detective Pete Scallion has recently moved from the Harris County Sheriff's Homicide Department to the newly established Cold Case Unit. It was a decison made to hopefully find a less stressful work load, a move fostered by his wife, Marti. In spite of their hopes, he soon becomes consumed by the case of the missing women, a case which leads to dangers as threatening as any he has faced in his career. Complicating things, Marti has now been diagnosed with breast cancer, causing Scallion's concentration to be divided between his work and helping her fight her terrifying battles. A witness who was afraid to come forward when the girls disappeared a decade earlier, suddenly appears, with a clue that at first seems meaningless. It soon becomes the first in a series of connected dots, leading Scallion and his aging, ineffective partner on a serpentine path that hopefully will lead to solving the ten year old puzzle.