Not since pirates plundered the coastline of South Carolina 300 years ago, capturing Charleston citizens and holding them hostage, had a crime created as much fear -- and interest -- as the murder of socialite Loris Campbell. The intrigue begins on a sunny, spring morning with the discovery of Loris's body at her Society Street home. Audrey Durant, assigned to the investigation by the Charleston Police Department, finds herself pulled in divergent directions. Instinct tells her that the murder was committed by a family member. Her search, however, uncovers unscrupulous lawyers, doctors armed with prescription pads, and a pack of predatory conservators. Battling Audrey along the way is Solicitor Pinckney, whose political career is on the rise, and for whom a successful prosecution could open the door to the Governor's mansion. As Audrey unscrambles the family battle that forced Loris's overmedicated husband into a nursing home, her unusual detective style draws on her fascination for South Carolina's colorful history -- finding echoes and clues from the past in the characters and realities of the present case and culminating in a disturbingly realistic conclusion that could happen to any family.