Unaware the Chicago Mob wants her dead, cop widow Carrie Romanelli struggles to meet a newspaper feature deadline of both national and personal enormity. She is sure her ex-lover, Dr. Greg Ryan, pursues revenge and placed a pipe bomb at her apartment leaving her roommate critically injured. To protect her teenage daughter and save her own career, Carrie seeks seclusion at her Wisconsin island cabin to finish the feature, where she finds it hard to shake memories of Ryan's lustful lovemaking. Safely isolated at the height of a blizzard, she awaits a secret tape from a cagey informant. But her plans are shattered by both a dangerous intruder, and a killer who leaves a bloody trail to her door. J. Douglas Knauer's first novel in the Carrie Romanelli mystery series that offers insights into her own newspaper reporter experiences.