Jo Beckett

An ongoing string of high-profile and very public murder-suicides has San Francisco even more rattled than a string of recent earthquakes: A flamboyant fashion designer burns to death, clutching the body of his murdered lover. A superstar 49er jumps off the Golden Gate Bridge. And most shocking of all, a U.S. attorney launches her BMW off a highway overpass, killing herself and three others.

Jo Beckett is a forensic psychiatrist who profiles victims' lives to help solve their deaths. On a San Francisco street, she is confronted by a scene of pure carnage: four dead and five injured after a high speed pursuit. In the mangled remains of a BMW lies prosecutor Callie Harding, dead with the word "dirty" written in lipstick on her thigh. Why did Harding run from the police? Why did she crash through a bridge railing? Was it an accident? Suicide? Or murder? Jo is a last resort in difficult cases.

Forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett's specialty is the psychological autopsy - an investigation into a person's life to determine whether a death was natural, accidental, suicide, or homicide. She calls herself a deadshrinker instead of a head-shrinker: The silence of her "patients" is a key part of the job's attraction. When Jo is asked to do a psychological autopsy on a living person, she knows all her skills will be put to the test.

Forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett is called to the scene of an aircraft to help deal with an erratic passenger. She figures out that he’s got anterograde amnesia, and can’t form new memories. For every cryptic clue he is able to drag up from his memory, Jo has to sift through a dozen nonsensical statements. Suddenly a string of clues arises, something to do with a deadly biological agent, a missing wife and son, and a secret partnership gone horribly wrong.

Tasia McFarland is a washed-up singer desperate to get back to the top of the charts. As her star begins to rise again, the tabloids uncover the fact that Tasia is the ex-wife of the US president - which is one reason the world takes notice when she is killed by a bullet to the neck in front of a crowd of fans. Suicide is suspected, but when the ballistics report comes up empty, the authorities call on Jo Beckett to do a psychological autopsy. As Jo sifts through the facts, she only finds more questions....

Tasia McFarland is a washed-up country-pop singer desperate for the break that will get her back atop the charts. She’s also the ex-wife of the president of the United States. So when Tasia writes a song with politically charged lyrics, people take note and her star begins to rise anew. In the spectacle-driven opener of her comeback tour, she is lowered from a helicopter, hundreds of feet above her adoring fans, while firing a prop Colt .45 at the fireworks-filled stage. Tasia is riding high.

Autumn Reiniger wants something special for her 21st birthday. Daddy’s bought her the car and the apartment, but now she wants excitement. And what Autumn desires, she gets. Her father signs up Autumn and five friends for an ultimate urban reality game. Edge Adventures alert the SF police that a “crime situation” is underway, so the authorities will ignore any squealing tyres or desperate cries for help. Then - when working on a case nearby - Jo Beckett encounters a group of men carting six sullen college kids to the woods....

Autumn Reiniger expects something special for her 21st birthday. Daddy’s already bought her the sports car, the apartment, and admission to the private college where she parties away her weekends. Now she wants excitement, and she’s going to get it. Her father signs up Autumn and five friends for an “ultimate urban reality” game: a simulated drug deal, manhunt, and jailbreak. This is convenient for a gang of real kidnappers zeroing in on their target and a mammoth payday.