Virgil Flowers, tall, lean, late thirties, three times divorced, hair way too long for a cops, kicked around for a while before joining the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. First it was the Army and the military police, then the police in St. Paul, and finally Lucas Davenport brought him into the BCA, promising him, Well only give you the hard stuff. Hes been doing the hard stuff for three years now - but never anything like this. In the small town of Bluestem, where everybody knows everybody, a house way up on a ridge explodes into flames, its owner, a man named Judd, trapped inside. There is a lot of reason to hate him, Flowers discovers. Years ago, Judd perpetrated a scam that drove a lot of local farmers out of business, even to suicide. There are also rumors swirling around: of some very dicey activities with other mens wives; of involvement with some nutcase religious guy; of an out-of-wedlock daughter. In fact, Flowers concludes, youd probably have to dig around to find a person who doesnt despise Judd. And that isnt even the reason Flowers came to Bluestem. Three weeks before, thered been another murder - two, in fact - a doctor and his wife, the doctor found propped up in his backyard, both eyes shot out. There hadnt been a murder in Bluestem in years, and now suddenly three? Flowers knows two things: This wasnt a coincidence, and this had to be personal. But just how personal is something even he doesnt realize, and may not find out until too late. Because the next victim ... may be himself.