John Castano is a lawyer working for a large law firm in the Twin Cities. In September 1989 a friend and client of John's, Dan Danfurth, is accidentally killed by a tree he was falling. To settle the estate, John meets with his widow and longtime friend, Elizabeth, at the cabin where the accident happened. After concluding the necessary estate papers, he wanders back to where the accident happened and has an eerie feeling this was not an accident. He reads the police reports, which increases his suspicion. That is when he contacts a private investigator, Willie Durante, to dig more deeply into Danfurth's death. Soon after, things become dangerous. It's obvious something sinister is going on and that there are some really big players involved. Castano is in over his head. He is dragging innocent people into this dangerous game, but he does not know what the game is. During this time, he has to deal with the death of his father from a heart attack, the death of the brother of a friend, problems with his ex-fiancé, and being lost at sea. What else can happen? A lot.