Brenna is a wolf-human living in the Snow Dance community who has been kidnapped and devastatingly tortured. After she's rescued by Judd, a Psy with telepathic and telekinetic abilities (and more), she thinks she might survive her haunting, horrific ordeal by Santano Enrique whom Judd killed. But another member of the Snow Dance community is murdered, and Brenna starts to experience something "evil," something that perhaps has been planted into her brain.

Little does she realize the plot that is unfolding that, if successful, will reprogram all of life to the point of its destruction. The clues lie in the NetMind, a cyberspace program controlled by the Psys but with unexplainable gaps holding the secrets of all defectors, including a serial killer. But who is behind the killing and why?

Judd and the Ghost have defected from the Psys, but the conditioning of the Psys, the Silence, is enmeshed deeper into his brain then he realizes. Black keys have been built into the unconscious, the inner layer, and the removal of these will allow him to fully experience what he senses are powerful emotions for Brenna, for all of living indeed. But the inner core of Brenna and almost all in her community is safe. The enemy's power is controlling the nerve responses and thinking of its prey. Pleasure, response is the normal order, but how is one to live when that usual function is reversed.

Nalini Singh is a unique writer in the way she presents the mystery within this story, gradually creating and increasing the tension and puzzle behind the surface action. Minute clues are tantalizingly dropped at pivotal spots throughout the novel, paralleling the developing romance between two very different characters, Brenna and Judd.

Caressed by Ice is a fascinating, intriguing paranormal, science fiction story that will enthrall those who love otherworldly plots lived by passionate, fully engaged characters like Brenna and Judd! Nicely done, Ms. Singh!