Working as a journalist for The Miami Herald, Ellen McGarrahan witnessed the botched 1990 execution of convicted killer Jesse Tafero: flames and smoke and three jolts of the electric chair. When evidence later emerged casting doubt on Tafero's guilt, McGarrahan found herself wondering: Had she witnessed the execution of an innocent man? Now a private investigator, McGarrahan is still gripped by the Tafero case, and as her investigation takes her around the world, she discovers she is not alone in her need for closure.