To start her life anew, burned-out crime reporter Tyler Scott returns to Lake Clare, her hometown nestled in the Adirondack Mountains. With her new business EnVestigations, she hopes to support herself and keep the peace and serenity of the town intact. But when mega-developer Carson Diehl sets his sights on building a sprawling luxury resort in pristine Hidden Valley, Lake Clare's serenity is shattered. Murder, and the unexplained deaths of three children embroils Tyler and her former lover, Chief Investigator Theo Lorenz, of the State Bureau of Criminal Investigation, in a wide-ranging case in which a local politician is involved. When a second death follows closely after the first one, Scott and Lorenz must find out-and quickly-why the resort development must be in Hidden Valley and why whistle-blower Vita Cohen is on the run. To protect Vita, to rescue the beautiful valley from destruction, to save her town from outside exploitation, Tyler risks her life to relentlessly follow her instincts in this twisted trail of murder, deceit, and greed.