The town of Preston had never known serious crime, but that all changed on a sweltering July morning when Janine Compton was murdered. She was the daughter of the prominent Compton family, and with her death came heavy pressure to solve the crime. But was Aaron Tully, the likeable but inexperienced town cop, capable of taking on such an investigation? His pride told him that he was; the townsfolk believed otherwise. But Tully's investigative abilities soon silenced all doubters. Jordan Finnie, the victim's onetime lover, was arrested and charged with the murder. With a mountain of evidence to back up the murder charge, Tully could then sit back and wait for the upcoming trial to commence. He had no doubt that it would be a mere formality. However, five months later a man walked into his office with a nuisance complaint. While following up on the complaint, Tully stumbled onto a new piece of evidence, evidence which basically eliminated Finnie as the killer. Now plagued with personal doubts, tormented and shamed by his inept police work, the question became this; with the crime trail now cold, and time running out, was it possible for him to identify the real killer?