John Delano is asked by Cathy MacDurmot to investigate the death of her brother, Orville MacDurmot, and the accusation of murder. John starts on a journey that will pull him deep into Miramichi's shadowy history and the pasts of those who conspired against him. Orville became an internationally renowned archeologist despite his humble roots and his blindness in one eye. Orville finds himself progressively at odds with the region's elite, who wish to use his eminence for their own gains and enlist him for their political causes. When the remains of a young woman and man are discovered on a rugged shoreline where Orville has been working on an archeological dig, his enemies finally see their opportunity to destroy him.