The book bounces back and forth between these stories. Along the way there are many, many subplots. Almost a ridiculous number of them, actually. And some of them are completely unnecessary to the story, and seem almost silly. For instance, we discover that Dr. Marcus has an interesting phobia. But other than a couple chapters dedicated to this issue, we never hear about it again. Since it had nothing to do with either of the major storylines, it was a total waste time. Then there's a plot involving Marino and the dead girl's mother. Can you say "inappropriate"?? There's the tension between Lucy and her partner, Rudy, which is never really explained. And there's even tension between Kay and Lucy that's never really explained. Basically, there are far too many things that are touched upon, but never followed up.