Grace Akers is hung from a beam over the altar of the Harford Independent Bible Church, and shortly thereafter, on the first day of deer season, her husband is shot dead on the property of the Smiley family. Kate and Ben Pierce, the new owners of a country home in Harford, become involved in the case through Jenny Smiley, the remarkable daughter of Pastor Paul Smiley, after Jenny is attacked in a highly novel way. The only obvious common denominator in the murders is the church. But how could the church possibly be involved? "How?" is the question that tantalizes Brad Jackson, Pennsylvania State Police criminal investigator. While hardly a novice in investigating murder, his murder caseload seldom exceeds more than one a year. Once circumstances throw him together with Kate and Ben, they all work together to bring the case to an explosive conclusion.