It's beautiful fall weather on Middle Island and the maple trees are turning colour, but for Chief Bud Halstead, autumn is looking to be just one big headache. The causeway to Bonville is down to one lane while it's being repaired and Island residents phone him every day to complain. He's the unwilling arbiter between ATV riders and angry property owners and he's got a new officer trainee who'd rather be in the city. Plus, his right-hand man, Officer Pete Jakes, is preoccupied with family troubles with his father.

Then there's an explosion at a local seniors' home and things become very serious indeed. A young kitchen worker is under suspicion of arson and as Islanders take sides, the investigation becomes nasty. The deeper the police delve, the more questions arise. Till Pete Jakes eventually has to leave the Island and travel to the city of his childhood in a search for the answers. Danger lurks in the city as well, and Pete's loyalties are tested to the hilt.

Meanwhile Ali Jakes is worried that Pete is suffering delayed post-traumatic stress syndrome from his soldier experiences. She just hopes that after Pete has travelled further into his past, he'll still want to come back to the present.

Be sure to look for previous books in the Middle Island Mysteries series, 'Pity of the Winds', 'Season of Deceit' and 'Crimes of Summer'.