Cleaning out her dying mother's dilapidated house in Massachusetts, Liza Machett discovers a fortune in hundred-dollar bills. The money seems like a blessing, until an elderly man warns her that someone very dangerous is looking for her. Terrified, Liza sets off on a perilous journey that will lead her to Cochise County, Arizona, where Sheriff Joanna Brady is embroiled in a mystery of her own.
Junior Dowdle, a developmentally disabled man, is found dead in a limestone cavern near Bisbee. Inside the cave, the police also discover an injured kitten, and the remains of other mutilated pets. Junior was a kind, sweet man Joanna considered a family friend. Was his death an accident, or is he a victim as well?
Her department stretched to the limit, Joanna must solve these two disturbing cases fast, before more innocent blood is shed.