"Buried alive - the damn victims have all been buried alive." In the San Fernando Valley, a serial killer is going to great lengths to torture and brutalize victims, burying them alive in caskets equipped with oxygen, lights, video, and audio, so he can torment them even further. The killer's taunting notes for the Iron Eagle lead Special Agents John Swenson and Chris Mantel on an investigation that tests them in new and very physical ways. Together with Sheriff Jim O'Brian, they race to find a killer whose nightmarish tactics are far greater than what each crime scene conveys. INSIDE FLAP: Gabby Fisher, a lab technician at Alton Laboratories in Panorama City, is working in research and development when she vanishes without a trace. Sheriff Jim O'Brian and Sheriff-elect Samantha Pritchard are called to the unincorporated area of Los Angeles to investigate a bloody crime scene at Gabby's home - a crime scene without a body. The case quickly involves the FBI, and Sam and Jim are joined by John Swenson and Chris Mantel in a race against time to find Fisher ... and to stop a killer. All leads point to another Alton employee who is being treated by Doctor Karen Faber, who the Eagle saved years earlier from a brutal killer, and who may now be in danger of becoming a victim yet again.