Assessing a books value is Denver cop-turned-bookseller Cliff Janeways expertise. But even a pro like Janeway could be supremely challenged by certain signed first editions. When is an autograph authentic? How can forgeries appear to be so convincingly real? The same questions apply, it seems, to a murder investigation in tiny Paradise, Colorado. Janeway agrees to help his lover, attorney Erin DAngelo, determine if Erins estranged childhood friend killed her husband -- or was her confession designed to protect her troubled young son? Then Janeway discovers the dead mans books: an impressive collection that may house some real gems. But its not their financial worth that draws Janeway deeper into the case of deadly small-town secrets -- its the hunger for peeling back layers of deception to reveal the genuine sign of the book. And in a case of cold-blooded murder, truth is a priceless commodity.