Raquelle Harbor hosts its second annual Pirates Festival and this time it was going to be done right. Or so everyone thought until the gruesome discovery of a body. Sheriff JT Wainscot investigates and DEA Agent Dennis Palmer drops by with an odd request. The waters quickly become muddied when a second body turns up. Chief of Police Diana Brennan is running for office and the ongoing election hinders progress in the case. Politics abound. Love interests develop only to fade. Deceit, vanity and blackmail are constant companions in yet another death. A clue in the mysterious death of a Russian businessman in New York finds its way to St. Julian Parrish in a dangerous and surprising ending.