The first death came unexpectedly. An old man attacked outside his home, his murder a shock to the town. Then the second death came and with it fear.

For Raythune County's prosecuting attorney Bell Elkins, the inexplicable killings in Acker's Gap are all she can think about. Everything - the oppressive summer heat, her absent daughter, her troublesome sister - fades into the background as she tries to work out who is responsible. As tensions escalate, and suspects begin to emerge, Bell will have to face demons from her own past as she comes head-to-head with a killer bent on destroying all those who stand in their way...