Former police sergeant Maria Kallio gladly remaining her tiny Finnish hometown of Arpikylä without seeking back. But even though Maria despises the small town as well as the acrid smell from its now-closed copper mine, when Arpikylä’s sheriff asks her to serve as deputy sheriff for the summertime, she agrees. What should have been a calm summer soon turns dramatic—and lethal. Meritta, an outspoken regional designer, plunges to her death from the copper mine’s tower, and Maria instantly suspects someone helped her fall. Now Maria must encounter the severe truth that one of the town’s residents wiped out Meritta, and friends Maria offers known for many years all harbor their own murderous motives—also Johnny, her gorgeous previous crush who almost makes her forget about her long-distance boyfriend, Antti, who is studying in Chicago. Within this thrilling addition to the internationally successful Maria Kallio mystery series, days gone by and present from the cherished Finnish detective violently collide, departing her future in grave risk.