Escaping the pressures of big-city policing and memories of a bad marriage, Maxine Benson is happy to be appointed police chief in the resort town of Port Ainslie. The town's police force consists of Max, police constable and card-trick master Henry Wojack and 65-year-old Margie Burns, who handles office and jail duties. Max's biggest challenge is to overcome skepticism at her ability to deal with major crimes, like the murder of Billy Ray Edwards. Few people mourn Billy Ray's passing. He was a bully and a thief.

Includes an excerpt from "Murder below zero : a Maxine Benson mystery".