When a freak auto accident kills a driver on the remote roads outside Duluth, Jonathan Stride is disturbed to discover that the victim appears to be a "ghost," with a false identity and no evidence to suggest who he really was. Alarmingly, a gun is found in the car--and the gun has recently been fired.

The next day, Stride learns that a Duluth college student has also vanished, and he worries that the two incidents are related. But what would have put an ordinary young woman in the crosshairs of a man who has all the hallmarks of an assassin for hire?

Stride's investigation of the girl's disappearance leads him into the midst of a film crew in Duluth, where a movie is being made based on a case in Stride's own past. The actor playing Stride is Hollywood royalty, an award- winning icon who has charmed his way to the top of the box office.

But Stride soon hears whispers that his cinematic alter ego has a dark side . . . and in trying to expose the truth, he makes a powerful enemy who will stop at nothing to protect his reputation.