Synopsis

Seeking to start a new life after being exonerated for the shooting death of a robbery suspect he mistakenly thought was armed, troubled Los Angeles police detective Jake Miller resigns and takes a new job as Police Chief of Silver Cove, a small resort town on an island in Washington’s Puget Sound. Shortly after his arrival Jake is summoned to a local motel where a man’s body has been discovered. At first glance, the death appears to be due to natural causes, but when he hears one of the paramedics responding to the scene mutter, “looks like she got another one,” Jake decides to take a closer look. Questioning the paramedic, he learns the deceased is the fourth man in the past twenty years to have a fatal heart attack while in an intimate relationship with Diana Raynes, owner of the town’s destination resort. He also finds trace evidence that suggests the death might not be from natural causes. Is Diana a serial killer?

Setting out to answer to that question, Jake soon finds himself being drawn closer to Diana, causing him to question his objectivity as it pertains to her possible guilt. His investigation grows more complicated when Diana’s high school sweetheart, Sam Winters, newly returned to town after an absence of thirty-one years, is wounded by a sniper. Then, days later, Sam’s daughter is critically injured when an exploding car bomb leaves her near death, and provides Jake with new evidence suggesting Diana might be responsible for those incidents, as well.

In the ensuing weeks, Jake doggedly pursues promising leads. His efforts succeed only in widening the list of possible suspects, not getting him closer to solving the case. Then, at the town’s annual Thanksgiving celebration, the perpetrator strikes again, an act that propels Jake’s investigation to a tragic and shocking conclusion.