Everyone has a past. Some are willing to kill to keep it buried.
Former Army CID investigator Ardmore Theberge returns to Portland, Maine, determined to start over after a violent incident ends his military career. His plan is simple: build a quiet business drawing hand-crafted maps and stay out of trouble.

But trouble finds him anyway.

When a powerful real estate developer is murdered inside a small stationery shop owned by Ardmore's new friend Rebekah Horvath, suspicion falls on her developmentally disabled son, Robbie. Before Ardmore can prove the boy's innocence, Robbie vanishes-turning a local tragedy into something far more dangerous.

As Ardmore digs deeper, he uncovers a conspiracy reaching far beyond Portland. Two ambitious politicians are desperate to acquire Rebekah's properties, tied to a secret buried years earlier during her time in the Foreign Service overseas. And standing in Ardmore's way is Roger McGinty-the officer whose brutal actions in Iraq led to the confrontation that destroyed Ardmore's career.

Now Ardmore must untangle a web of political corruption, old betrayals, and personal vendettas to find a missing boy and expose the truth-before his past catches up with him and another innocent life is lost.