The saga begins with the forced captivity and abuse of several young female Russians. They came to America under the false pretense that they would be part of the American dream. Instead, they are locked away and forced to be a part of a prostitution ring for wealthy clients.
Maura Isles, a medical examiner, discovers a "live" corpse from the Boston Harbor in a body bag. After Jane Doe is taken to the hospital, she shoots a security guard and seizes several hostages including pregnant Detective Jane Rizzoli. Rizzoli's husband, FBI agent Gabriel Dean, is frantic as he tries to negotiate their release. Tension mounts as the negotiating team discovers that the "guard" is not an employee of the hospital and has fingerprints not found on the federal data base.
The autoposy of the dead man reveals a scorpion tattoo on the center of his back. This type of tattoo is often found on marines assigned to killer missions. The tattoo would serve as a means of identification if the exremities were severed from the body.
