Autumn Marsh, violently assaulted the day of her mother's funeral, believes her ordeal is behind her, until she encounters her attacker at the birthday party of Dawson Rutherford, her grandma's employer. Autumn suspects her hated enemy's deceptive charisma has charmed Dawson's wife, Laurette, into an affair. Later, Dawson is discovered mercilessly strangled to death in his bathroom. With sixty or more guests attending, anyone could be the killer. The sheriff is of a different mind. Colby, fiance to Autumn, and eldest son of the Rutherford's, is the last known person to see his father alive. He is singled out as the prime suspect. Could it be that Colby actually killed his father, or is it just possible that another shadowy figure stole into Dawson's bathroom to rid the competition that stood between him and Laurette Rutherford? Colby's fate inevitably rests in Autumn's hands."