The heartbroken recluse. . .The hardboiled cop. . .The walking wounded telepath. . .And the serial killer. Russell Walker retreats from the shock of his wife's death by becoming a hermit in the woods of British Columbia. There he finds himself thrust into a precarious role as intermediary between a telepath called Smelly-so sensitive he can't stand to be near most people-and Constable Nika, a skeptical police officer who needs Smelly's insight to track down a monstrous serial killer.