On the day that Ed Ingel is shot to death in his home, Dr. Karl Graham and his secretary, Daisy Winslow, start out for a weekend environmental conference in Montreal, only to end up in a crash on a northwestern Maine country road. While the search for Ingel's killer in Fairchance unearths more than anyone could guess about the victim, Daisy's foray to summon help for her trapped employer lands her in the hands of two brothers whose hospitality includes promise of a deadly ritual.