On the brink of falling for a man she met on the Internet, Dr. Rita Brooks naively assumes Brian LaPort is everything he says he is...and all that she's hoped for. But before she can come face to face with him, Rita is nearly killed in a horrific accident. Or was it an accident at all?

Emerging at last from a disturbing, vision-plagued coma, Rita is confronted by a stranger who is convinced she knows more than she's telling about her own past-and his brother's. Cryptic e-mail records have led Christopher LaPorte to Rita while Brian lies near death in New Orleans from a suicide attempt. Or was it?

Desperate to unlock her own muddled memories as well as Brian's secrets, Rita returns with Christopher to New Orleans. There, amidst the chaotic revelry of Mardi Gras, she is plunged into a bizarre masquerade where elaborate masks cleverly conceal familiar faces-as well as murderous intent...