For Jake Hines, Captain of Detectives in Rutherford, MN, the fact that Benny Niemeyer was found not guilty of murder is an almost personal insult. He'd spent months developing the case, Benny's attorney almost sleep-walked through the trial, the DA had done a great job, even if several key witnesses had either disappeared or developed courtroom amnesia. Even so, when Benny is found dead two nights later, and it's clear there was nothing natural about his death, Jake does what he has to do.

At first there are more questions than answers, more blind alleys and stone walls than a growing city like Rutherford should have had. But detectives follow leads, no matter how ridiculous they appear; after all, what could missing silver at the Aldrich estate have to do with the death of a lowlife thug? What could the death of a prisoner in Stillwater have to do with a missing Beretta in Rutherford?

But Jake pieces together this puzzle meticulously, because even a killer deserves justice...