On this February morning it looks like winter is about to heat up on Tango Key. Sometime in the night, Judge Henry Michael, his wife, and two small sons were murdered. Butchered. The quiet little Florida island is reeling in horror. But clues are scarce. And the only thing for certain is that whoever did it — enjoyed it.

Detective Aline Scott knows she's going to have to dig deep on this one. But when there's another brutal murder, she hits pay dirt. Just that summer, convicted killer Jimmy Ray Luskin fried in the electric chair at Raiford. Now everyone connected to the five-year-old case has been targeted for death. It seems someone cared for Jimmy Ray - with a vengeance, and the blood list runs from the judge and jury to the attorneys and the cop who made the arrest - a young rookie cop named Aline Scott.