Ernesto and his therapist, Melvin Baldwin, are found brutally murdered. Decker remembers Ernesto's obsession with the belief that his grandfather may have been a Nazi who posed as a Jew to escape to South America after the war. Baldwin was tied to a hate group and, with his wife, was involved in a nature camp that practiced the psychological and sexual manipulation of teenagers who are pressured by their parents to excel. Jacob, Rina's son, is struggling with his adolescence in his attempt to reconcile his devotion to Judaism with the temptations of contemporary life, such as drugs and sex. Peter and Rina must delve into the past and the horrors of the Holocaust in order to rescue the troubled and desperate young people.

A complex and disturbing novel which is an excellent portrayal of the emotional life of a family, as well as a psychological study of teenagers who must come to terms with parents who apply pressure for success. The book is also a close look at computers and educational SATS.

Kellerman has woven themes of religious belief and familial respect into an engrossing thriller.