When her late grandfather's dying deputy calls Mercy to his side, she and Elvis inherit the cold case that haunted him--and may have killed him. But finding Beth Kilgore 20 years after she disappeared is more than a lost cause, it's a Pandora's box. The timing couldn't be worse: the man who murdered her grandfather escapes from prison and a fellow Army vet turns up claiming that Elvis is his dog, not hers. With her grandmother Patience gone missing, and Elvis's future uncertain, Mercy faces the prospect of losing her most treasured allies. She needs to forgive Vermont Game Warden Troy Warner long enough to enlist his aid. With time running out for Patience, Mercy and Elvis must team up with Troy and his search-and-rescue dog Susie Bear to unravel the secrets of the past and save her grandmother before it's too late.