Chapter One Summary

A man appears in the apartment of Stephanie Plum while she's mentally planning the day over a cup of coffee. The man is a total stranger who seems surprised to be in Stephanie's apartment. When Stephanie asks the man how he got there, the stranger replies that she doesn't want to know but that it's something akin to being beamed down a la Star Trek.

As a bounty hunter, Stephanie is used to weirdos and creeps showing up in unusual places. When Stephanie has time to think about it, she retrieves a gun from the brown bear cookie jar where it lives. The man acts indignant and tells Stephanie that it won't matter if she shoots. Besides, there are no bullets in the gun.

The stranger makes himself at home and flops onto Stephanie's bed. Diesel tries to convince Stephanie that...