Darling Dare, 33 years old, grew up an army brat. Upon the death of her mother, Darling refused to settle into her aunt’s house, aggressively determined to travel with her father. She got her way. Her father, Luke Jones, an Army Ranger and hand-to-hand combat instructor is haunted by the cold war in this tense world of the 1950s. 

Having access to training from her father, Luke Jones, Darling absorbed all she could of the martial arts and small arms. It is also rumored that Luke taught her all he knew, including training as a sniper. 

The book begins in 1961. Darling Dare’s life has been interrupted. For two-and-a-half years, her daughter Esther has been missing, abducted from her own house in the middle of the night. Darling is devastated, as she did not even have a chance to protect Esther that night. She feels guilty that the kidnapper snuck into her house and stole Esther right from her. 

A man named Sam Steele, a self-proclaimed serial killer, psychopath, and criminal genius takes responsibility for Esther’s abduction and claims she is dead. Soon Sam Steele is proclaimed the fabled "Jackknife" killer, also known as "Jack the Drifter". All cold case files make their way to his door. His confessions clear up all sorts of mysteries. The authorities, including the FBI, are applauded for the capture of this insane killer. Sam Steel is kept in isolation, away from the risks of the general population. They treat him like a king. 

Darling Dare visits Sam Steele each month for two years, each time demanding, "Where is my daughter?!" Unbeknownst to him, she uses subtle interrogative tactics to figure out Steele. After two years, she concludes that Sam Steele is not the man he pretends to be. Nobody else believes her, including her own husband. 

Darling Dare must use her hand-to-hand combat skills to stay alive against the onslaught of evil that comes upon her as she continues relentlessly to pursue more information about Sam Steele, and as she attempts to discern whom the Jackknife killer is.