Alex cross wakes only a few hours after going to sleep to the sounds of his partner ,John Sampson , banging on the door, Sampson tells cross that there has been a murder At the sojourner truth school.this is personal to cross because his son Damon goes to the school.the little girl,shanelle Green,has been laid out in the play yard at the school,the girl is missing her school clothes and appears completely normal expect the beating she received to the killer left shanelle in this way because there is something distinctive about the killer's physical appearance,