As the minutes tick by, the body count rises in Beverly Long's Dead by Wednesday With no leads, no witnesses and four teenage victims, it's a race against the clock for Detective Robert Hanson to catch a vicious serial killer. But he gets thrown slightly off course when Carmen Jiminez asks for his help. Fiercely independent, the pretty pregnancy counselor is the only woman who has ever tempted Robert to give up his freewheeling bachelor life. Yet protecting Carmen from mysterious "accidents" and vengeful clients is just as difficult as winning her trust. And the only way he can keep her and her brother safe is to conceal a wrenching secret - one an obsessed killer can't wait to use. Now Robert's newfound family is right in harm's way, and time is almost up - .