Edgar Award-nominated author Failing to win back his girlfriend in New Jersey, Monk returns to San Francisco where Natalie has set up an office for Monk and Teeger, Consulting Detectives. It's time to stop bickering and get to work when Lieutenant Amy Devlin comes to them for help. A disgruntled employee came into work and started shooting, killing three coworkers and leaving a female hostage severely wounded. After spotting the shooter through office windows, the police lost him - leaving Lieutenant Devlin with a real mess on her hands. Visiting the bedridden survivor, Monk finds her to be helpful, cooperative ... and quite charming as well. But the more he and Natalie try to track down the assailant, the more he seems to have disappeared from existence altogether ...
