At dog obedience trials, fighting is common, especially between owners. But Dog's Life columnist Holly Winter is shocked when a mere training session ends in murder. Between sit, heel, and the final long down, a retired doctor takes the longest down of all - strangled with his malamute Rowdy's leash! And when Holly takes the big, beautiful orphaned dog home, he quickly becomes her cherished new partner in digging up clues to a crime that cuts to the bone with betrayal ... and touches the heart of everyone who has ever loved a dog.