There's nothing like family during the holidays... unless one of those family members is in jail, and you're the cop who was responsible for putting him there. Police Chief Aggie Malone is facing her first Christmas as a married woman, and hoping for a relatively uneventful holiday in the quiet Gulf Coast community of Dogleg Island where she and her perspicacious border collie Flash are in charge of keeping the peace. She is still trying to find her place in the big, boisterous Grady family, but unlike Flash-and her own husband, Deputy Sheriff Ryan Grady-Aggie does not see the appeal of the holiday, and the magic of the season is completely lost on her. The old-fashioned Christmas Grady has planned for his bride begins to unravel when Aggie's investigation into a homicide hit-and-run leads to the arrest of her own brother-in-law and exposes a crime syndicate that's responsible for spreading millions in counterfeit bills throughout the southeast. A police informant turns up dead, and evidence suggests his murder may be the result of corruption at the highest levels of law enforcement. Flash, who is an expert at putting things together, understands that all these pieces of the puzzle are related, and with Aggie's help they'll soon be able to see the big picture. But not even Flash can foresee the demons their search for the truth will unearth. When the shadows from the past reach forward to cloud their future, Aggie, Grady, and Flash find the limits of their loyalty tested, even as they discover the lengths to which they will go to protect the ones they love. Praise for Donna Ball: "A major talent of the genre" --Publisher's Weekly "Refreshing and compelling " --Library Journal