In the piney woods of North Florida, the cantankerous matriarch of an extended clan has called a family reunion to celebrate her ninetieth birthday. Tempers flare among family members and, before long, one woman is dead, her husband is on life support and her sister has blood on her hands.Criminal investigator Larry Macklin is called to the scene. At first, it seems like an open-and-shut case: Paula Reece discovered her brother-in-law strangling his wife and she reacted with violence in an attempt to save her sister's life.As Larry interviews various family members, he begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. But with no concrete evidence of foul play, and with his lieutenant breathing down his neck to wrap up what appears to be a simple case, Larry is running out of time to prove his suspicions. Someone just might get away with murder.