Private investigator Andy Hayes is forced to confront his own blind spots when an unusual and deeply personal case lands on his desk. Tim Watkins—a young drag artist who performs as Tiara Treatwell—is being targeted by online abuse and in-person stalking from anti-LGBTQIA extremists. Andy suspects the harassment traces back to a protest outside a drag story hour Tim attended weeks earlier in suburban Columbus, but he has no proof, only gut instinct.

Pressed by his cousin and Andy’s closest friend, bail bondsman Otto Mulligan, Tim reluctantly agrees to accept Andy as his bodyguard. Tim, who is Black and queer, doubts that a straight, macho ex–football star can understand his world; Andy doesn’t help his case by admitting he’s never attended a drag show or bothered to learn anything about the culture.

Their uneasy partnership is shattered when Tim is attacked by two masked assailants—and only with the help of a quick-thinking bystander does Andy manage to save both their lives. As the police probe unfolds, Andy’s investigation leads him to the Promise Lords, an Ohio-based white supremacist organization linked to the earlier protest. To navigate the murky landscape of regional hate groups, Andy turns to an old ally: Ronald J. McQuillen, a freelance analyst trusted by law enforcement.

Complicating matters further is Andy’s fraught relationship with Columbus police detective Henrietta Millner, who resents Andy operating in her territory. Caught in the middle is Andy’s daughter, Alex Rutledge, training to join the force herself. When a cryptic comment from Alex prompts Andy to question why a seasoned investigator like Millner remains stuck on the night shift, tensions deepen—and so do the mysteries surrounding the case.

As Andy races to identify Tim’s stalkers, he uncovers a string of strange clues suggesting the threats are tied to something far larger and far more dangerous. With time running out, Andy must assemble the truth before a violent, potentially deadly confrontation erupts—one that could cost Tim, and many others, their lives.