Judge Deborah Knott and Sheriff's Deputy Dwight Bryant are back home in Colleton County. Lt. Sigrid Herald and her mother, Anne, are down from New York to visit Anne's ailing mother, Mrs. Lattimore. When the group gathers at Mrs. Lattimore's home, they meet the enigmatic Martin Crawford, an ornithologist researching a new book. More importantly, he is Mrs. Lattimore's long-lost nephew. Anne can't shake the feeling that there is something familiar about Martin, something he doesn't want anyone to discover. When a murderer strikes, Deborah, Dwight, and Sigrid work to solve the crime and uncover Lattimore family secrets.