When a serial homicide case surfaces in Chochise County, prompting an early return from her maternity leave, sheriff Joanna Brady finds herself leading an investigation involving multiple jurisdictions.

Protecting a brilliant freshman whose homeschooled life has left her unprepared for the outside world, Jennifer Brady invites the vulnerable girl home for a Christmas break that embroils Sheriff Joanna Brady in a volatile missing-persons case.

Juggling her pregnancy, family deaths, her daughter's imminent departure for college, and a reelection campaign, Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady investigates two suspicious falling deaths that may be the work of a serial killer.

As if juggling a family, including the impending birth of a second child, a career and a staff shortage at the Sheriff's office aren't enough, Sheriff Joanna Brady has to deal with two serious crimes. The first is the dead body of an ex-con who was found in the desert with all his fingers severed. The second is the brutal attack of one of her officers while on unauthorized stakeout. Being a sheriff is what she is and Joanna will stop at nothing to...