Their foster mother, Carol, has always been fanatical, but with Jazz grown up and out of the house, Carol takes a dangerous turn that threatens thirteen-year-old Joaquin's life. Over and over, child services fails to intervene, and Joaquin is running out of time. Then Jazz gets a blocked call from someone offering a solution. There are others like her--people the law has failed. They've formed an underground network of "helpers," each agreeing to eliminate the abuser of another. They're taking back their power and leaving a trail of bodies throughout Los Angeles--dubbed the Blackbird Killings. If Jazz joins them, they'll take care of Carol for good. All she has to do is kill a stranger.