Denver antiques dealer Jason Lynx has a deep interest in answering that question. For the victim was Ron Willis, brother of policewoman Grace Willis, the woman Jason hopes to marry.

There's not much to go on: only Ron's address book and his desperate search for cash the night before his death. Of course there is also the mysterious skeleton that rescue workers find near Ron's body - surprisingly on property belonging to the Credable family, a Denver dynasty built on violence and greed. These days the Credables are the soul of upper-class respectability. Or so it seems.

Goaded by Grace's irrational response to the tragedy, Jason inches toward the truth - about a killer, himself, and the woman he loves....