Ahmad, the bright star of the University’s Bio Chem department, was also an observant Muslim, and his violent murder has all the makings of a hate crime. But when Jess discovers Ahmad was secretly gay, the case becomes more complicated. To make matters worse, the murderer seems to delight in misleading the police, leaving Jess to wonder: is this a hate crime at all, or an elaborate cover up? Jess navigates the ambitious and cutthroat world of academia, squaring off with a brilliant sociopath who just might have committed the perfect murder.