After the events of The Accidental Pallbearer, Eliot Conte decides to leave the private eye game and return to his great love: teaching American literature. He has also embarked on a relationship with Catherine Cruz, the policewoman he met while unravelling the story of his father's involvement with a major Mob hit in the 70s. But the peace doesn't last long: one of Eliot's students, a Bosnian Muslim, disappears, leaving a trail of texts and emails that suggest a terrorism plot Meanwhile, the tightknit community is disturbed by a series of brutal murders of pet dogs.
