When shy, country girl-woman Norva Beane hires Alo Nudger to investigate a possible securities fraud, he thinks it will be a routine case. He doesn't realize it will involve a wandering daughter, drug dealers, a dangerous, tattooed muscleman, a dysfunctional family, and a poignant past that refuses to release its grip on anyone involved. Nudger, his lady love Claudia Bettencourt, and his friends Lieutenant Jack Hammersmith and Danny Evers are all touched by a tragedy by that continues to unfold in surprising directions no matter how hard Nudger tries to stop it. The suspense becomes riveting as trouble builds and answers lead to more questions and more danger.