Part One: The Last Case: Chapters 1 - 8 Summary

Alex Cross is retiring from the Washington police department and Nana and his three children are looking forward to seeing him a lot more often. He is almost finished when his best friend John Sampson arrives, asking for his help. John's friend Ellis Cooper has been charged and convicted of murdering three young women and John is convinced he is innocent. With only a short time before his execution, John and Alex travel to West Point in an effort to secure a stay of execution and eventually his freedom, but are met with roadblocks at every turn.

Sergeant Ellis Cooper, a fifty-five-year-old war hero, is convicted of killing three women and sentenced to death. The real killers attend the final day of the trial, and leave amused by the outcome. Detective...