Thirty-one-year-old Police Sergeant Penny Maclean has fallen into a routine at work. Speaking at school assemblies, chasing runaway dogs-it's all beginning to feel stale. So when the popular wife of a local doctor is found dead on Halloween night, Penny jumps at the chance to investigate. But the more she knows, the more unsettled she becomes. She and the murdered woman have a lot in common; they even share a love of rural life and animals. Still, unremarkable as the victim's life appears at first glance, Penny can't shake the feeling that the woman had a secret. After all, Penny has her own complicated past. As she hunts the killer, Penny unearths secrets that pull her into the dark side of rural Maine. She only knows one thing for certain-she must discover the truth before the chain of violence claims another victim.