ɚɹˈaʊnd ðə sˈeɪm tˈaɪm, pəlˈiːs dɪtˈɛktɪv ˈælɪks kɹˈɔs ɹᵻtˈɜːnz tə hɪz wˈɑːʃɪŋtən, dˌiːsˈiː hˈoʊm tə fˈaɪnd sˈɛvɹəl ɹˈɛlətˌɪvz wˈeɪɾɪŋ fɔːɹ hˌɪm ænd ɪz ɪnfˈɔːɹmd ðæt hɪz nˈiːs, neɪˈoʊmi "skˈuːtʃi" kɹˈɔs, kˈɜːɹəntli ɐ stˈuːdənt æt dˈuːk jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾi ɪn dˈʌɹəm, nˈɔːɹθ kˌæɹəlˈaɪnə, ɪz mˈɪsɪŋ.
Around the same time, Police Detective Alex Cross returns to his Washington, DC home to find several relatives waiting for him and is informed that his niece, Naomi "Scootchie" Cross, currently a student at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, is missing.