Michael Kaye is a desperate man. Desperate enough to return to the small, frozen town in upstate New York he swore he'd never set foot in again - but which now he may not leave alive. Michael is a safecracker, a 'boxman', and his luck has just run out. After a disastrous score in which his closest cohort was killed, Michael swore he'd go straight. But working as a landscaper in Florida, he couldn't help noticing the old man across the street living in the big house with no security worth a damn. It's almost like he was asking Michael to take him down. Which, in a way, he was. The old man has been the victim of a burglar before - a burglar who took a lifetime's collection of priceless paintings. Now he's hoping the thief is audacious enough to come back for a second bite of the cherry, once the insurance company has come through and everything's been replaced. But what the thief doesn't know is that he's no harmless old man. And this time he'll be ready. The only problem is, Michael's the one who's taking the bait. Walking into a trap, he barely escapes with his life. But the old man has sworn he'll kill the guy who robbed him, and as far as he's concerned that's Michael. Michael could keep running, but with two professional killers on his tail, he knows he has to make a stand somewhere. This town, with all it's buried secrets, including the truth about his father's death and the long road that lead to becoming a criminal, is as good a place as any. But there's another reason: Amelia. A girl when he last saw her; now a woman who's in her own brand of deep trouble. It could be by coming home, he's just adding a last lethal chapter to her tragic story. But maybe, just maybe, he can save them both.