In this third book in the River Bend Chronicles, Lynn Powers, a fortyish widow with a teenage son, continues to build her new life in River Bend. It's two weeks before Christmas and the holiday season is going full tilt -- except for Lynn and her son. In an effort to rekindle their slow starting romance, chief detective Dusty Reid pays a visit and finds Lynn's household untouched by holiday cheer. Dusty takes Jason on a routine call and starts a series of events that mirrors the death of Lynn's husband two years ago. In addition to grieving on the anniversary of her husband's death, Lynn has been advised by one of the board members of the River Bend Philanthropies that his review of a local nonprofit, River Bend Reads, has revealed embezzlement. This story weaves through the Christmas holidays, with Lynn and Dusty's big New Year's Eve date spent in the morgue identifying the body of a staff member of River Bend Reads. And then another body turns up.