In the third Belle Palmer mystery, Belle takes her friend and employee on a snowshoe trek. Miriam MacDonald brings her spoiled mini-poodle, a gift from investment broker boyfriend, who promises huge returns on her life savings. Later that week, Miriam discovers Elphinstone bludgeoned to death in his condo. Although Miriam's fingerprints alone are found on the Inuit sculpture murder weapon, the collapse of Elphinstone's empire has ruined hundreds of people and made him many dangerous enemies. Miriam is eventually charged with second-degree murder and then, as Belle struggles to pull the pieces of a very complicated puzzle together, Miriam rushes off to North Bay to be with her ailing daughter, and Belle inherits the obnoxious poodle. Meanwhile, a stalker now has Belle watching her back in the Northern Ontario bush she calls home. Will she find the killer before a bullet finds her?