Brian Kane teaches creative writing at Newman College and is about to stumble onto the story of a lifetime. When his former mentor, Father Michael McCoy, is murdered, Kane uses the pretext of being the biographer of the fallen priest to catch a killer. A vortex of powerful forces confronts Kane and his sleuthing partner, librarian Maria Valencia. Church officials deny Father McCoy had any involvement in the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church and try to stymie Kane's probing. Resort developers quarrel with environmental activists over McCoy's valuable property along the Mississippi River. Generations of bad blood and family secrets split the McCoy clan's loyalties. The shocking truth propels Kane to risk everything-career, love, dignity-to catch a killer who would risk even more.