In I, Alex Cross, Patterson's eponymous hero is dragged from a family celebration and given some very unwelcome news: Caroline, his niece, has been savagely killed. Cross makes an instant promise: he will use all his resources to track down the murderer. But disturbing facts begin to emerge: Caroline.. was involved with a particularly strange endeavour in Washington, an organisation that promises to fulfil every fantasy of its participants, however outlandish. As Alex learns, the people involved in this sinister dream factory are both powerful and influential, and only those with the most copper-bottomed credentials are allowed to join the party. With the aid of his girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, Alex Cross gets closer and closer to these mysterious figures, and the reason behind Caroline's brutal murder. But (as so often before), he realises that he is up against people who will stop at nothing to maintain the clandestine nature of their activities. What's more, Alex discovers there is far more at stake than just a modern day version of the hellfire club -- there are revelations in store which could shake the foundations of society.