Ethyl Smut, everyone agreed, deserved to die. Drugs, child abuse, a life wasted, but murder is murder and killers must be brought to justice.So, when a second body is unearthed in her shallow grave, and the town's worst nightmare in the person of George LeBrun also find their way onto Ike's desk so to speak, things get messy fast. Then there is Ethyl's missing daughter, Darla, who could testify against some important people if she were found. And...

Ike Schwartz, Sheriff of Picketsville, Virginia, and Ruth Dennis, the President of a local university and Ike's fiancée cannot find peace and quiet be at home after a trying year of academic and local politics. So, they elect to seek asylum on Scone Island, a rocky island four miles off the coast of Maine. Its lack of electricity, reliable water supply, and phone service guarantee their seclusion and peace. The fact there has been a suspicious accident...