Blood ties have an American police detective in Poland investigating a suicide that may have been murder. A Philadelphia police detective visiting Poland gets involved when murder is suspected, and the local police turn away. Adam Kaminski, with a delegation to Philadelphia's sister city, is meant to be a polite observer only. But a good man doesn't walk away when he sees wrong being done, and he's not about to start now. Visiting his family's homeland, Adam's been warned by his superiors to be on his best behavior. In a country that has known centuries of wars and occupation, politics are complex and layered with old prejudices and loyalties impossible for foreigners to understand. But when Adam meets a Polish cousin in Warsaw who believes his daughter was murdered, Adam is troubled by the indifference of the police... and by the strange behavior of the delegation's Polish liaison. Adam begins uncovering clues that point to the killer, clues that lead him inexorably into an investigation of the intricate web of Polish politics and the legacy of the Secret Police. But the past isn't always black and white, as Adam is forced to accept as he learns more about the killer and about his own family legacy. Will looking into the murder only beget more murder?