Running for his life from professional hit men who have already put a bullet through his leg, Sheriff Cork O'Connor seeks sanctuary in the small town of Bodine on the Upper Peninsula, at an old resort owned by his cousin, Jewell DuBois. Though Jewell, a bitter widow whose husband may have been killed by cops, keeps Cork at arm's length, her fourteen-year-old son, Ren, is looking for a friend. But being a father figure to Ren will prove more difficult than Cork could possibly imagine. When the body of a young girl surfaces along the banks of the Copper River and Ren's friend, Charlie, vanishes, Cork, aided by P.I. Dina Willner, must put aside his own peril to help solve this deadly new mystery.