During the eerie half-light of a far north summer night, a crime spree - from scams to burglary - strikes the Highlands. Suddenly Hamish Macbeth, never an ambitious man, has more police work than he desires.After all, Macbeth's preferred activity is watching the waves dance on the loch. Yet as he deftly investigates the summer's high crimes and misdemeanors, he attracts the attention of his superiors. They feel a promotion and transfer will give him a larger playing field than Lochdubh. That's the last thing Macbeth wants. Now the laconic lawman needs a clever way to quash the move without losing his job entirely.He also needs to solve one more case - the baffling problem in Stoyre. The inhabitants of this remote fishing village are acting, well, fishy. On a routine visit, Macbeth finds the pub empty, and the church unexpectedly full.Faces are hostile, mouths tightly closed. Fear permeates the very air. Then an explosion levels a holiday cottage, and locals call the blast an "act of God."Macbeth disagrees. He has an outrageous theory about Stoyre that can make national news...if he's right. With the help of journalist Elspeth Grant, and an assist from his dog Lugs, he's dreamt up a scheme to ferret out the truth without alerting his superiors to what may be another stroke of his special genius. Or a complete disaster. As any good Scotsman knows, the best laid plans oft go awry. And Macbeth's may go desperately wrong with an old friend's death, a scandalous rumor, and the loss of one so brave and true that it might break his heart.