Was Lainey Hunter meant to be a private detective?  Her channeler has told her to "follow your name," and that is the fate implied in the name Hunter, isn't it?  She must become a detective.  But how is she to fulfill such a fate?

Becoming a detective is a way for Lainey to confront her fears, yet the death of her closest friend’s lover after he is injured in Iraq, the violence of a young neo-Nazi, and a threat from the world of mysticism and magic force her to confront death.  In the process Lainey Hunter finds life.

Lainey's friends and acquaintances are as vivid as the streets of San Francisco where she has lived most of her life and where she pursues her fate.  Signs of Life is a detective story where the characters are as important as the clues.