A series of frightening murders plagues San Francisco. To solve the crimes, Homicide Inspector Clemson Yao enlists the help of Angie Strackan, a realtor who once tried -- and failed -- to become the city's first female homicide inspector. The two face off against a ghoulish, black-humoured serial killer who whimsically refers to his grotesque murders as "messies". Gripped by macabre obsession for a decade, he's evolved into a grandmaster of slow, anguished death, roaming the globe to catalogue the most despicable methods of execution. As Clem and Angie slowly unravel the murderer's clues, they realise he has got his next victim already picked out -- and it seems there is nothing they can do to stop him!