"It's 1995 and Texas has a new governor, the heir to a political dynasty. Lobbyists and political kingmakers are angling for influence, smoothing their paths with oil money and Bible quotes. The state capital of Austin is changing in troubling, dangerous ways." "In their midst, teenager Faith Copeland, fallen child star and recent porn actress, is murdered in her bed, the victim of one man's perverted fantasy and her own Hollywood dreams. Across town, thirteen-year-old Rolo Ortiz is forced out onto the streets to fend for himself in a world of drugs, desperate acts and games no kid can afford to lose." "Enter Dan Reies, obsessive and volatile, the Austin Police Homicide Squad's only New Yorker and its only Jew. Left by the woman he loved, Dan jumps on the case to resurrect his career and redeem his life." "Pursued by an unseen enemy, Dan chases a trail of intrigue from the aftermath of the fires at Waco to the backroom deals of the Texas capital.

But when one of the women in his life turns up murdered and he's the only suspect, he slips into a nightmare of cult leaders, blackmailers, moneylenders, pimps and the desperate, mind-blowing, no-holds-barred battle between acts of desire and acts of faith."--BOOK JACKET.