Jonas Piedmont Beaumont has had it rough all his life. Raised by his hardworking, unmarried mother and disowned as a youth by his grandparents, he learned at a very early age how cruel life can be. Two marriages, a treacherous battle with the bottle, assorted midlife and moral dilemmas, and a few decades as a homicide detective haven't convinced him otherwise. For his gruesome caseload continually reinforces those ugly childhood lessons about the awesome and terrifying cruelty of man.While the more things change, the more they stay the same, the Seattle that beau knew as a young policeman is disappearing around him. The city is awash in the aromas emanating from a glut of gourmet coffee bars, the neighborhood outside his condo building has sprouted gallery upon gallery, and even his long-cherished diner has evolved into a trendy eatery for local Gen X-ers and hipsters. But all the glam is strictly surface, for the grit under the city's fingernails remains caked with blood...When Beau and his new partner Sue Danielson are assigned the murder of an elderly woman torched to death in her bed, Beau finds himself distracted by Sue's difficulties at home. Distraction soon turns to terror as Beau and Sue find themselves caught up in a series of events that will leave them and their carefully constructed investigation shattered. For Beau, nothing will ever be the same again.