San Diego homicide detective Robbie Brownlaw lived an ordinary life until he was thrown out of a sixth-floor window. Brownlaw survived but developed synesthesia and now sees voices as colored shapes which relay the true emotions behind spoken words. Brownlaw has learned to trust his condition and feels he has his own internal "lie detector". He has also developed a friendship with the man who threw him from the window but finds his marriage beginning to fall apart.

When the body of ethics investigator Garrett Asplundh is found in his car beneath the bridge where he proposed to his wife, the general consensus is suicide. After his little girl drowned, Asplundh separated from his wife and began drinking heavily. Brownlaw and his partner, McKenzie Cortez, investigate the case and quickly determine Asplundh was murdered. When he died, Asplundh was investigating a case which involved local government officials and could influence the city's upcoming financial ranking if the results become known. Was the murder tied to his investigation or one of a more personal nature?

Parker's written a well-paced mystery with a unique character in Brownlaw. Characterization is nicely portrayed, from Brownlaw's frustration over his crumbling marriage to insights into Asplundh's agony over the death of his daughter and subsequent acts of benevolence.