Sheriff's detective Jude Devine thought she'd left her past in Washington D.C., but when reclusive millionaire Fabian is found murdered in Paradox Valley, and a photograph of Jude's missing brother Ben is among his possessions, Jude finally has a chance to solve the mystery that has stalked her since childhood.

A place like the Four Corners is the perfect exile for people escaping from something or someone. But when that someone is yourself, the problem with running away is that you bring your worst enemy with you. Sandy "Lonewolf" Lane, a former paratrooper Jude suspects of being a domestic terrorist, has called the Four Corners home since the suicide of her lover, whose son was killed in Iraq. She's planning to kill the Vice-President, and her determination to carry out her mission, and Jude's to stop her, draws the two women into a lethal game of cat and mouse. All of this is quite a distraction from Jude's love life, which is probably just as well, since it's not going the way she was hoping. Jude is in a dilemma when Dr. Mercy Westmoreland's wife, actress Elspeth Harwood, is away shooting a movie and Mercy feels like company.