Jenna Brady – newly promoted to detective as a consolation prize for not being named chief of police – investigates the mysterious drowning of a young husband, while covertly investigating the death of her mother in a suspicious house fire that took place when Jenna was a young teenager.

Jenna has worked hard to be in the running for the next chief of police for the small town of Skaket, Massachusetts. And it’s time for a woman to take the title. She also wants to be chief for a very personal reason – to find the person responsible for her mother’s death, which was deemed accidental. However, Jenna is convinced her mother was murdered, and the only way to find the killer is to reopen the decades-old case from a position of power.

While Jenna anxiously waits for the new chief to be announced, the body of Kyle Silva washes up on the town beach. After learning the young man’s drowning might not have been an accident, Jenna watches the outgoing chief announce his replacement – Myles Rylan. Hand-picked by the governor to bring diversity to this white suburb, Myles introduces himself to the force. But Jenna already knows who he is. Myles was the only Black student in her high school and had been accused of setting the fire that killed her mother. Cleared but not exonerated, Myles has been haunted by the accusation for years.

Eventually Jenna and Myles work together to investigate the deadly fire. At the same time, Jenna continues to investigate Kyle’s death as a small circle of women close ranks around his widow. Kyle’s widow lives in a section of town called Beach Grove, where everyone knows each other’s secrets, with an unsaid pact that they will remain just that – secret.

Jenna and Myles finally uncover the real reason Jenna’s mother died, and the stunning details surrounding Kyle’s death. At last, the junior detective and chief of police have time to determine who they are going forward – and who they will be to each other – in the first of the Skaket Murder books. A picturesque sea-side town, Skaket is both as comforting and menacing as some of its inhabitants.