Joe McKibben refuses to accept the emotional reality that his wife of thirty years was killed in a vehicle crash. Like the good cop he once was, he ignores his feelings of grief, telling himself he's still married. Eleven months of living alone has him asking why he's still alive. His ignored feelings of grief explode into anger when he finds the brutally slain body of another retired detective and close friend. Evidence indicates his friend's death may be linked to an older murder in the city, one that has remained unsolved for three decades. McKibben, now the owner of a historical research firm, begins to dig into the older murder, using computerized data that did not exist in the 1970s. His research unearths a trail of crime and tragedy that leads back a half-century into the city's history and forward to the wife of the man who will be the city's next police chief. McKibben's search, which takes him across three states, also leads to a chance encounter that gives his life a new beginning.