To whom will Ursula Tilghman sell Dames Hundred land as she seeks to finance a memorial to her husband? Will it be millionaire developer John Alexander Bassett, hungry to extend his power over St. Martins on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Or will it be her stepson Stephen who wants to build a multi-racial new town on Tilghman land beside the Rehobeth River? The contenders vie for Ursula's favor, new and powerful interests join the struggle, warnings appear in the form of slaughtered animals, and murder strikes. Accountant Daniel Pryor and his lover Eurydice Smith join with State Trooper Celine Litowska, ensnared by her own secrets, in a quest for the killer, but not before death strikes again at Dames Hundred.