Clarice is called back into the field when two bodies show up only several feet apart with similar wounds that appear to be the work of an unknown serial killer on the loose.
In order to prove to Krendler and the VICAP team that she is fit for duty, Clarice must find the psychological key that will unlock a confession from the suspect in the three river murders.
Following the assassination of Karl Wellig, while in the FBI's custody, Clarice and VICAP are investigated by Krendler's rival at the Bureau, SA Anthony Herman. When he recruits Ardelia to assist him, it causes friction between her and Clarice.
Sidelined because of her harrowing ordeal with Marilyn Felker, Clarice goes to Ruth Martin to be reinstated and gets roped into having dinner at the Martin residence.
Clarice and Ardelia team up to investigate a deeply twisted cold case after the body of a missing teenager is found entombed in concrete; Clarice wrestles with the knowledge that Krendler may know the man who attacked her while she was held captive.
ViCAP investigates what appears to be a suicide of a medical student; Krendler secretly collects a DNA sample from the man he suspects attacked Clarice at Woodhaven.
The River Murders are linked to a pharmaceutical company, so Clarice seeks help from their corporate accountant; Catherine goes outside for the first time since her rescue from Buffalo Bill.
Catherine Martin escapes to Carneys Point, N.J., to confront Buffalo Bill's mother, Lila Gumb; Clarice volunteers to be the one to find Catherine before she commits a vile act and becomes a monster herself.
Clarice zeroes in on the entity behind the River Murders, Alastor Pharmaceuticals; the team rushes to Alastor to prevent the purging of any incriminating evidence; Clarice questions the CEO of Alastor Pharmaceuticals.
As the team finally gets the green light to raid Alastor Pharmaceuticals, Clarice punches another FBI agent in a moment of rage, then willingly turns in her badge and gun.
On the heels of ViCAP uncovering Alastor's secrets, Clarice is imprisoned in an animal testing facility where she finds trafficked women being held captive. ViCAP and Ardelia team up to locate Clarice as she attempts to break from her captors in a race to rescue the other women.
