Hillary Broome, a redheaded reporter just moved back to California, wants to keep a low profile in the dusty flatland near Lodi so as not draw attention to her byline from a former New York editor who could spill her secret and ruin her career. But when she goes to interview a superstore manager about a celebrity coming to town, Hillary gets a glimpse of body parts neatly cut up and set out on his desktop blotter. She finds herself in cahoots with a lonely sheriff trying to stop the crazed killer before he strikes again in his misplaced quest for justice.