One lonely night, a decade after the death of his wife, a still bereft Pete Pinel is accosted by an escaped madman who claims to have created a "Philosopher's Stone" - a catalyst that can "open every lock in the brain." To enlist the detective's protection from men torturing him for his secrets, he hints at undiscovered motives for Veronica's murder. Before he can say more, however, gunmen snatch the madman and leave Pinel for dead. Saved and befriended...