Winter is here. The days are short, the nights are long and the deeds are dark. It's not often that Detective Sue Penner gets a night out on the town. She's thrilled to be the Captain's plus one at a prestigious art gala, but her enjoyment is cut short when the event's host fails to make an appearance. When his body is pulled from the Ottawa River later that night, it offers more questions than answers. Mark Williams was a personal friend of the Captain's, and Detectives Penner and Millar are determined to find out how and why he died. But it won't be easy. They'll need to play nice with the local RCMP-easier said than done. After a run-in with an unusually combative and secretive inspector, Penner and Millar know they need to find an ally within the ranks of the RCMP. It's obvious the rogue inspector knows something about Mark that led to his death, but he seems to be more concerned with forcing Penner and Millar off the case than working together to solve it. Penner and Millar are working blind. They have no suspects. They have no motive. They can't even be sure of the cause of death. But the more they uncover, the more sure they are of one thing-nothing is as it seems. And appearances can be deceiving.