There's no escaping the sweltering heat when White House correspondent Laurel Stewart arrives in Somersett, South Carolina, and discovers that her best friend -- the vice president's protocol advisor -- has disappeared. As frustrated as she is by Detective Joe Gannon's skepticism regarding her suspicions, Laurel finds his smooth-talking southern ways and brazen bedroom eyes disturbingly, dangerously, seductive.

With the homicide rate escalating as fast as the mercury, the last thing Joe needs is a stubborn, argumentative reporter --...