Canadian forensic profiler Christine Morris is called away from a police methodology conference in Edinburgh by the police from the Outer Hebrides, who inform her that her estranged mother has been involved in a vehicular homicide and is missing. Christine's arrival there is followed by the suspicious death of one of the islanders. What unfolds is a deepening involvement in the life of the community, an unexpected reconnection with her mother, and a nefarious plot against one of the young princes, who isplanning a visit to the island.