Contractor-sleuth John Deal is the last of his kind—a builder who appreciates his craft. His friend Arch Dolan was the last of his kind, too, a Miami bookseller who sold books because he loved them. Now someone has killed him for it. And he's only the first body to fall. In quick succession the CEO of a huge bookstore chain and a local lawyer meet violent ends … and Deal begins finding connections.

But it's not as easy for Deal as it used to be. His estranged wife, Janice, is still emotionally scarred from his last adventure. Janice was close to Arch, though, and she's as eager to find his killer as her husband. Working together, they discover that Arch's sister Sara, lately employed by a charismatic Christian revivalist, has disappeared. With the clues pointing north, Deal and Janice set off to find out more—before they're both chilled out for good.