New York is in the middle of a huge UN conference when it is thrown into chaos by the assaults of the Bone Collector, a serial kidnapper and killer who gives the police a chance to save his victims by leaving obscure clues The cops go to Lincoln Rhyme, an ex-NYPD forensics expert left paralysed after an accident on the job Rhyme reluctantly postpones his ambitions towards suicide and puts together a premiere forensic investigation team, enlisting as his arms and legs a beautiful young police officer, Amelia Sachs Rhyme digs deep into the only world he has left - his astonishing mind - and slowly begins to tighten the noose