"Bert" Jenkins is a kind, church-going citizen from the small town of Elberton, Georgia. But when the local police come knocking on his door at two o'clock in the morning, it's because he's a possible suspect in the disappearance of a ten-year-old boy.
But why is this unassuming individual being questioned by the police? Could it be because his wife of thirty-five years turned up missing just over a year ago and both figures were last seen in an open field adjacent to the man's home?
A Certain Obsession follows the F.B.I.'s search for the young child, though the clues that unfold reveal a possible pattern including yet another crime that may have been committed over fifteen years ago.
And how can a package of balloons be their most important piece of evidence?
