When the frozen body of Cheryl Latham, stepdaughter of a prominent Toronto politician, is found with a bullet through her heart, overworked, underpaid homicide detective Barry Gilbert inherits the case. The bizarre nature of the crime itself -- apparently the woman was shot after she froze to death -- and the divergent clues do not bode well for a quick and tidy solution.

Who trashed the victim's apartment and what was this person looking for? Why did the intruder kill her parrot? Odder still, Cheryl was never seen leaving her building on the lobby security videotape -- so how did she end up on the dock? Add a large sum of stolen money and a dead sister into the equation and Gilbert is tackling a crime filled with dark secrets, dangerous relations and a killer convinced he can get away with murder.

When the frozen body of Cheryl Latham, stepdaughter of a prominent Toronto politician, is found with a bullet through her heart, overworked, underpaid homicide detective Barry Gilbert inherits the case. The bizarre nature of the crime itself — apparently the woman was shot after she froze to death — and the divergent clues do not bode well for a quick and tidy solution.

Who trashed the victim's apartment and what was this person looking for? Why did the intruder kill her parrot? Odder still, Cheryl was never seen leaving her building on the lobby security videotape — so how did she end up on the dock? Add a large sum of stolen money and a dead sister into the equation and Gilbert is tackling a crime filled with dark secrets, dangerous relations and a killer convinced he can get away with murder.