Ever since Eric was kidnapped at the age of five and found a stranger’s memories inside his head, he has suffered from severe paranoia and dissociative identity symptoms.
More than a decade later, his dissociative identity disorder is completely cured, and with his older brother’s training, Eric has become a well-rounded young man, both scholarly and strong.
Just as his paranoia is about to be cured too, an ordinary trip to clear his head draws him into another kidnapping...
A serial killer has appeared in the Washington, D.C. area, targeting young men and women from good families. The killer abducts them, murders them, and disposes of their bodies so cleanly that the police don’t identify the crimes as a serial murder case until twelve people have gone missing. They then call in the BAU for help.
After twenty-seven hours of interviews, analysis, and investigation, the BAU identifies the real culprit. When the BAU team and the police storm the killer’s basement, they find several accomplices beaten senseless and tied up to one side, several victims huddled together and trembling with fear, and... young Eric, completely unharmed, his eyes brimming with tears as he pins down the ringleader and beats him to a pulp...
...The BAU and their police buddies are stunned.
Eric is “rescued.” He’s just wrapped in a blanket and taken a relieved sip of coffee when the poker-faced middle-aged man in front of him introduces himself as Aaron Hotchner, head of the BAU team. That name matches one of the key characters in the TV show Eric remembers from the stranger’s memories, the one full of weirdos. Trembling, Eric asks for the names of the other team members...
And Eric’s poor paranoia makes a spectacular comeback.
