Fifteen years ago, Tom O'Brien was convicted of murdering his wife and her lover and wound up on death row. Now that his appeals have been exhausted, Tom is ready to die, but he still maintains his innocence. Then a natural disaster lands him on the outside where he goes in search of his daughter, who was the prosecution's key witness at his trial.

Private investigator Claire O'Brien is working a case on the Sacramento Wharf when she's cornered by her father. Tom begs her to contact Oliver Maddox, a young man who's dug up some evidence that will exonerate Tom. Upset at her father's intrusion into her life, and along with it all the long-suppressed memories, Claire refuses to help him. After all, he's an escaped convict, and what he's asking of her would make her an accessory.

FBI Agent Mitch Bianchi and his partner, Steve Donovan, are hot on the trail of prison escapee Tom O'Brien, who's unwittingly led them to Claire. To bring O'Brien in, Mitch befriends Claire under the guise of a writer.

Claire's not looking for a new relationship, but falls for the handsome Mitch and must juggle her time between him and the growing evidence that suggests her father really was framed for murder. When those involved in the O'Brien trial begin to go missing or turn up dead, Claire knows her father is telling the truth.

For years the real killer has lived below the radar, with Claire close in sight. As Claire gets closer to the truth, she too must die. The killer has waited years for this moment, to finally have Claire and put to rest childhood demons.

Ms. Brennan has woven a dark, twisting story of human frailty and greed stretching from high government offices to a bar in small-town California. I was completely engrossed in the story and couldn't put the book down. I highly recommend this read.