In the Brighton Beach area of New York City, a man named Yaponchik kills a Russian Elder by shooting him in the face with a 12 gauge pistol. It becomes the third such killing in which the perpetrator mutilated the body to prevent positive identification. Frank assists N.Y.P.D. Lieutenant McCormick, Yura Surova, from the Moscow Police Department, and undercover officer Andrei Medikov with the investigation. While inspecting the Elder's corpse, Frank notices an odd mark in the shape of a inverted "V." But he is unable, at first, to determine its meaning.

Maddie Haskel, twenty-years-old and heartland pretty, attends her mother's funeral in Joplan, Missouri. After the service, Maddie returns to her family's home, where she is approached by a vicious-looking man named Jim Gilroy. Gilroy's attempt to rape Maddie comes to a sudden halt when Maddie's boyfriend, Bobby Webber, emerges from the shadows wielding a length of iron pipe. After Gilroy is knocked unconscious, Bobby and Maddie drive off into the night with their prisoner safely tucked away in the trunk of their automobile. A Missouri State Trooper notices the vehicle has a burned-out tail light and orders Bobby to pull over. When the trooper hears noises emanating from the trunk, Bobby grabs a .357 and shoots and kills the trooper.

Near the University of Colorado at Boulder, a group of college-age students gather at a warehouse/techno night club. Art Nesbitt, a pharmacist, approaches a couple, Mel and Leslie. He opens his palm, revealing two capsules. Under the influence of the powerful drugs, the couple accompany Nesbitt to a small room. Nesbitt captures their lovemaking on videotape, then injects them with a lethal poison.

Emma tries to help her drug addicted sister and learns that local addicts are exhibiting strange mutations linked to tainted heroin.

A desperate man sets out on a killing spree taking revenge on the holy men that he believes have led him to stray. Frank can see the man's sense of faith and the lack his faith could be the key to stopping this killer. Frank then puts himself in danger when he walks into a hostage situation at a small town church.

In Manhattan, Frank Black and an anthropologist link a bizarre, ritualistic slaying to a lost tribe of Native Americans who follow apocalyptic prophecies.

Emma and Frank investigate the mysterious biological research conducted by a former Millennium Group member who is dying from a mysterious disease.

Catherine and Lara investigate when five girls claim they saw a vision of the Virgin Mary.

A fundamentalist Jewish sect abducts a pregnant woman hoping to raise a pure child for the priesthood and force the coming of the Messiah.

Against the initial resistance of the Group, Frank travels to Portland, Oregon, to investigate a murder at an animal shelter. He meets with Jim Horn, a profiler and candidate for the Millennium Group. But Horn is distracted by his imminent divorce, and there is tension between him and Frank. When the killer strikes again, Horn is losing control, and Frank not only has to catch the killer who leaves grisly messages on his victims, but he has to contend with Horn as well who is more than ready to stop the murderer with terminal prejudice.

A man, Cutter, parks his automobile near a home with a "For Sale" sign on the front lawn. After speaking briefly with a realtor, Cutter signs his name in a guest book and makes his way through the house, where he takes particular interest in a little girl's bedroom. Later that evening, the owners return home and tuck their young daughter, Patricia, into bed. Later that night, Patricia suddenly begins screaming.

Frank aids in the search for a man who is supposedly carrying a highly contagious virus and discovers the secret behind the Human Genome Project.

Frank and Emma investigate murders on the set of a movie based on one of Frank's former cases.

At a Seattle cemetery, James Dickerson, a handsome 20-year-old, lurks outside the chapel during a college football player's funeral. After the mourners leave, James approaches the deceased's mother and sister. Calling himself "Ray Bell," he gains their trust by pretending to be a friend from college. He hugs the boy's grieving mother, savoring the hug in an unsettling way. That night, the mother visits the open grave one last time, when suddenly hands reach out of the grave, and drag the terrified woman inside.

Clinical social worker Catherine Black aids a family as they come to terms with the incestuous abuse they have suffered for decades. However, the father who is responsible still commands respect and political connections in the area, making the case a difficult one.

An unidentified man in a van follows a teenage boy, Josh Comstock, as he rides his new motorcycle through Vista Verde Estates, a gated, upper middle-class neighborhood in Washington State. As night falls, Josh rides his bike across the dirt of an undeveloped cul-de-sac. The driver parks his van and approaches the boy, suddenly, jabbing a cattle prod into Josh's chest and sending him flying backwards into the dirt. When Mr. and Mrs. Comstock awaken the next morning, they find the corpse of another teenage boy in Josh's bed--and their son missing.

Frank's brother, Tom, and his wife, Helen, travel to Seattle where they hold their newborn son's baptism. After the ceremony, Frank checks up on Jordan, who is off playing with a friend inside the church. He finds his daughter huddled in a ball on the pew, clutching herself. She speaks of a man she saw hurting her Aunt Helen. Frank rushes outside the church. He finds his baby nephew unharmed in the back seat of Tom's rental car, but notes a blood droplet on the infant's face. Frank and Tom realize Helen was abducted.

A mysterious Asian woman is linked to several strange deaths aboard a ship.

The Marburg virus has apparently run its course. Several months after the death of his wife and a nervous breakdown, Frank rejoins the FBI and investigates a plane crash with a new partner.

Frank and Emma investigate a family of identical women who are apparently being killed off.

Frank and Emma investigate the suicide of a former FBI agent and discover links between the FBI, the Millennium Group, and the Los Alamos nuclear research center.

Offender profiler Frank Black, a member of the private investigative organisation Millennium Group, retires to Seattle with his family after a breakdown caused him to quit working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Using his incredible profiling skills, Black helps in an effort to catch a vicious murderer who believes he is fulfilling apocalyptic prophecies.

Forensic profiler Frank Black, a member of the private investigative organization Millennium Group, is asked to investigate a vigilante who uses newly released convicts to execute those he deems guilty.

Frank and Peter assist an FBI investigation when a mad bomber terrorizes Washington, D.C, by blowing up buildings then to come out looking like a hero, the bomber goes back into the wreckage to save victims. Frank and Peter help search for the bomber whose attention starved personality may be the key to his undoing.

Peter Watts tells Catherine that Frank missed a routine homicide review with Yakima police that morning. Fearing the worst, Peter and Catherine access Frank's computer, looking for clues that would shed light on his disappearance. The pair uncover email correspondence between Frank (using the pseudonym "David Marx") and a Doctor Daniel Miller. Catherine tells Peter that five years ago, just before Frank collapsed, he would sometimes vanish for days at a time and check into hotels using the same pseudonym.