A farm destroyed by fire. A corpse among the ruins. Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner and consulting pathologist for the federal ATF agency, is called to a farm in Virginia that has been destroyed by fire. In the ruins of the house, she finds a corpse that tells a story of violent and gruesome murder. The fire has coincided with another, even more chilling terror: Carrie Grethen, a killer who almost destroyed the lives of Scarpetta and those close to her, has escaped from a psychiatric hospital. Her location is unknown, but her ultimate destination is not, as Carrie begins to communicate with Scarpetta, conveying her deadly - albeit cryptic - plans for revenge. With an atmosphere of eeriness and labyrinthine structure, "POINT OF ORIGIN" is Patricia Cornwell at her most brilliant.