Sam and the Windlass Team are called in to assist on a cold murder case from twenty-five years before, but it isn't long before Sam finds out that one of his oldest friends, former detective Steve Beck, had known the victim. As the story comes out, Sam learns that Steve's young son vanished back then, and the victim may have been the one who abducted him.
When newly discovered evidence makes that scenario more likely, and after learning that Steve was withholding facts, he's forced to consider whether his friend and fellow investigator could be the murderer. Knowing that he would never be able to rest if the wrong man was arrested, Sam pulls out all the stops to get to the truth.