As darkness gathers above the Hawaiian island of Kauai, a small ship drifts into harbor, unpowered and in danger of running aground. On board are seven bodies. The murders fall in Lieutenant Cobb Takamura's jurisdiction. He soon traces the death ship's route and the cause of death to an exotic venom. As Takamura navigates the tricky waters of international politics and biologist Chazz Koenig tries to isolate the poison, two women are brutally murdered. A killer is loose in the island paradise, and as he assumes various guises he moves closer to the families of the men who pursue him.