Race Week celebrations grind to a halt when a body is discovered in a barrel of asphalt near the Charlotte Motor Speedway. As medical examiner Temperance Brennan investigates, she discovers a deadly chemical in the barrel. The next day, a NASCAR crew member shares with Tempe a devastating story. Twelve years earlier his sister, Cyndi Gamble, then a high school senior who wanted to be a professional racecar driver, disappeared along with her boyfriend, Cale Lovette. Lovette kept company with a group of right wing extremists known as the Patriot Posse. At the time of their disappearance, the FBI joined the investigation, but the search was quickly terminated. Tempe cannot overlook the coincidence and investigates.