Roses Are Red is a detective novel by James Patterson. It traces the life of detective Alex Cross while he tries to solve a series a robberies. Unfortunately, the majority of the robberies also include murders. Alex is employed as a homicide detective with the Washington DC police force. He also has a doctorate degree in psychology. Alex is middle aged and single with three children. He is recovering from a break-up with his long time girlfriend, Christine Johnson. Christine is also the mother of his third child, Alex Junior. Professionally, Alex is under immense pressure to discover the perpetrator and solve the case. The brutality of the murders has the public scared. Large companies and banking institutions are the selected targets, and the industry fears not just for the safety of individuals, but also for the stability of America's economic sector.

Alex and his police partner, Sampson, set out to uncover the crook behind the first robbery, only to see the case evolve into a series of robberies. Due to the severity of the crimes, the FBI is quickly brought in to help. Among the FBI agents are Betsey Cavalierre, James Walsh, and Michael Doud. The first robbery occurs at a Citibank Branch in Silver Springs. At that robbery the bank employees are spared but the bank manager's family is killed. The second robbery occurs at First Union Bank in Falls Church, Virginia. At that robbery the bank employees were shot but the manager's family was released unharmed. A third robbery occurs at a Chase Manhattan Bank branch. At this robbery the sole survivor is the security guard, who was spared because he was needed to deliver a message to the authorities. The final robbery occurs at the Mayflower hotel and the target is MetroHartford. No one is hurt during the kidnapping and attack, but thirty million dollars worth of cash and diamonds are collected as ransom. Alex and his FBI counterpart, Betsey, work together to follow up on leads and untangle the perpetrator's trail. It is a difficult trail to follow because the Mastermind plans his attacks but pays others to conduct them and then poisons those who helped him accomplish his task. He eludes authorities and truly is a mastermind at planning. Alex and Betsey learn that many small-time thieves as well as crooked police officers are among the Mastermind's accomplices.

The detectives finally obtain a solid lead that takes them to Hazelwood Veterans Hospital where Frederic Szabo is a resident. Szabo has a paranoid personality disorder which causes him to entertain the idea of revenge. His targets are banks and insurance companies who he feels are harmful to the average person. Szabo makes intricate plans for plausible robberies, but does not have the resources to conduct them. He is manipulated by his physician, Dr. Francis, who has more options available to him. In an unexpected last minute twist, the ultimate Mastermind is revealed as Kyle Craig, who had been posing as Alex's friend and coworker throughout the story.