After a year marked by murder and mayhem, Dr. Jane McLaren is ready for a little normality. Life may not be perfect, but between two blossoming careers, good friends, and more than enough family, she has everything she needs to stay out of trouble. Things aren't always as they appear, though. Not even in the sleepy resort town of Desert Pines, Oregon, where the bodies are stacking up again like so much cordwood. Old wounds are re-opened when she's called out to examine the body of an unpopular whitewater rafting guide, whose murky identity and odd behavior have sparked an almost supernatural dread in the residents of Desert Pines. Once more, Jane must partner with Detective Joe Connor to catch a killer. Faced with menacing out-of-towners, an improbable theft, and an increasingly hair-raising mystery, Jane is forced to call for help from an unlikely source. But can she solve the case before anyone else gets hurt? Or will her own trauma get between her and the truth?