A gruesome murder is the first major crime that recently promoted Sergeant of Detectives Madeleine Axford must investigate. Despite what seems to be an obviously open-and-shut case, she confronts the universal puzzle: What appears to be, is not necessarily so. This conflict of appearance versus reality spreads until it involves not only the team examining the murder, but also Clara, an eighty-seven years old Cree woman, and the local representatives of all three Provincial political parties. As the layers of reality unfold, positions of accepted political correctness must be abandoned, ugly truths must be exposed, and the cast of characters must face the wrenching reality of what lies beneath the surface of conventional behaviour. This is a compelling story that will result in some uncomfortable moments for the reader, but one which the reader will not want to put down.