Detective Luke Steele thought he'd settled down, but he can no longer hide from who he is: a man who thrives on the other side of the caution tape. In a sleepy college town in the South Carolina foothills-"the last small town in America"-Detective Steele has a quiet life. His job is stable, he's fallen for a real estate agent, and he's spending most of his nights in her new suburban home. But when your business is law and order, crime will always find you. Late one October night, flashing blue lights rouse him from bed. A roofer has died at the house under construction two doors down. It's not his case, but he nevertheless finds himself drawn into investigating a scheme of land developers, money launderers . and ruthless killers.