In the dreary, cold pre-Easter lull, Mrs. Murkin develops a case of persnicketiness. Someone has stolen from the church’s offering box. The meat she has taken from the freezer and jars of her preserves have vanished. Footprints on the kitchen floor. But when she and reluctant Father Dowling track the footprints through the snow, they come upon something more horrendous than either Mrs. Murkin or Father Dowling has anticipated: a body in a pool of blood.

Thus begin the dire events that shatter the seemingly peaceful innocence of Fox River, Illinois. Murder follows murder. Shades of drug-trafficking and organized crime loom large and menacing. The police press hard and Father Dowling is himself endangered before the murderous attacker is put to ground.