Elisa Laird is her husband's pride and joy. A trophy wife ten years his junior, she ably performs the societal duties that her husband's career dictates. Judge Laird glories in his community standing. And his three passions are well-known: his golf game, his bench, and his wife. So when homicide detectives Duncan Hatcher and his partner DeeDee Bowen are summoned to the Laird's home in the middle of the night, they know that discretion and a quick, thorough investigation are the keys to keeping their jobs. Elise and the Judge claim that Elise fired her pistol at a man who was burglarizing her husband's study. It's an open and shut case, at first glance. But Elise is acting strange. DeeDee doesn't fall for her "victim" act, instead seeing Elise as a beautiful manipulator whose actions just don't make sense. Despite himself and his partner's warnings, Duncan finds himself falling for the frightened young woman, and jeopardizing his own life to find out whether the Judge has hidden reasons for his wife to "disappear."
It's a deadly game filled with lies, seductions, and tragic pasts. Duncan and Elise may spend their lives looking over their shoulders, if they can survive each other's betrayals...
