When a woman dies in a house explosion, Detective Jake North feels that something nasty has just crawled into his quiet Southern neighborhood. Larsen is a good quality town with deep historic roots. People stroll down the sidewalks of Main Street with no fear of being mugged. They take drives out in the country, not worrying if they will be car-jacked. Their children aren't afraid to play in their own yards. Now, Jake fears that has all changed. His fears are soon confirmed when more bodies start turning up, each victim, meeting a grisly end. What ties them together? Secrets they've covered up. Lies they've bought their way out of. Lives they've destroyed. People go to great lengths to hide nasty secrets. But someone else goes even further to dig them up and settle some scores. It's up to Jake and his partner Dean to figure out what a crudely carved initial on the bodies and a shocking photo left behind have in common. But as they get too close to learning those nasty secrets, Jake may wish they hadn't.