In the Near West suburbs of Chicago in 1992, Luther and Naomi are preparing to marry when Luther stumbles across the murders of two fellow taxi drivers. During the chaos generated partly by arriving relatives during the days leading up to the wedding, as well as by the disappearance in the same time period of one of Luther's former students, the murders, along with press coverage of the deaths, are creating enormous pressure on the engaged couple. Luther is in the final week of teaching a summer class while trying, with the help of a Melrose Park police detective, to unravel these tangled threads, while Naomi is attempting to arrange for her veterinary business to function smoothly while they are on their expected honeymoon. Their problems worsen when they conclude that one or both of them are the next targets of the killer. Everything eventually comes to a head on the eve of the wedding, though afterword there is still much to unravel.