A string of serial murders has rocked Jincheng: a rusted nail binding a soul at an abandoned factory, a body hidden inside a wax figure in a century-old mansion, a poisonous perfume delivery sent to kill, a frozen, decomposing corpse in a cold-storage warehouse... At every crime scene, investigators find a note reading “Pay for your sins” and a strange thorn tattoo. The victims come from wildly different walks of life, yet all have been drawn into a vast criminal web known as the “Thorn Messengers.”
Su Yang, a 24-year-old forensic evidence prodigy, carries the police badge left behind by her parents, who died in the line of duty. She teases apart each case using the smallest clues, from strands of hair to traces of rust. Lu Tingchuan, a hard-line 29-year-old criminal investigation captain, bears the guilt of an unsolved case from three years ago and pursues the real culprit with iron resolve. Together, they lead an elite task force, eliminating suspect after suspect as they chase the killer across a series of long-running investigations, only to discover that the culprit is hiding behind the scenes, using others to do the killing.
The serial plots of a high-IQ criminal gang, suspicions of a mole within the police force, and a cold case stretching back three years make every step of the investigation a nerve-racking one. The formidable duo joins forces to pierce the fog, unraveling a criminal conspiracy committed in the name of “justice” amid taut emotions and interlocking mysteries.
