As a serial killer stalks his victims in the fiery ruins of the 1906 earthquake, the police detective hunting him must protect a pair of adolescent orphans.
It's 1906, and people from across the country are flocking to San Francisco, a growing center of industry and culture. But to some, the city is a place of unspeakable sin, and the Great Earthquake is seen as a day of reckoning for the immoral masses.
In the quake's aftermath, another type of disaster strikes twelve-year old Shane Nightingale. Hiding in a closet for two days, he witnesses the violent deaths of his adoptive family at the hands of a twisted serial killer.
Sergeant Randall Blackburn is an honest police detective determined to track down the murderer. As Sergeant Blackburn's work takes him through the ruins of the city, he spots the traumatized Shane Nightingale, and begins watching out for him. Soon Blackburn's fate is linked with the cunning Shane and his scrappy orphan friend, ten year-old Vignette.
But despite Sergeant Blackburn's protection, Shane is far from safe in the streets of the ravaged city. The killer is dead set on finishing the job-and won't rest until the last Nightingale follows his family into the grave.