When a man careens off the road into the frigid waters of the Chautauqua River, Chief Detective David Wolf risks his own life to bring the man to shore. News of Wolf's bravery travels fast through the burgeoning ski town of Rocky Points, Colorado, and before long he's pulled into the political grinder, where candidates are eager to exploit Wolf's character for their own gain. Injured as well in the process, it seems his heroic deed was some cruel twist of fate, that is, until he meets Lauren Coulter, a nurse at the hospital and a new girl in town. Lauren is smart, beautiful, and just Wolf's type. The connection is there. But just as they get started, so does the killing, and so do the secrets start emerging from Lauren's troubled past. Has fate steered Wolf to the wrong woman? Or is someone more devious behind the wheel? Lives will depend on how fast Wolf can come up with the answer, and living with failure will prove to be something much worse than death.