When Brent Hyde arrives home from college to find his parents missing from their dairy farm, he feels a creeping sense of dread, but the inept local police won't take him seriously. Determined to find them, Brent drags his boyfriend, Gary, into the search. When Jason Killeen, a senior journalism student from Brent's college, shows up to investigate a twenty-year-old research project involving Brent's mother—and Brent's current employer—the situation gets sticky. Jason insists they're all in danger, and a sudden body count proves him right. While Brent, Jason, and Gary gather clues, a hit man, an FBI agent, and a corporate scientist turn up the heat by embroiling themselves in the investigation. Under that pressure, Brent and Gary's relationship falters, and Brent finds himself turning to Jason, whose understated heroism attracts him. Then an unexpected discovery puts all three of them in mortal danger, and Brent makes a choice that will change them all forever.