It is the seventh mystery novel featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and set in Quebec.

There is a vernissage at the museum the night before the public opening followed by a party organized by her husband Peter at their home in Three Pines.

The next morning Peter and neighbor Olivier, carrying the newspapers with reviews of her solo show, see a woman dressed for a party lying dead in the back garden.

She is Lillian Dyson, whom Clara knew over twenty years earlier in art college, a best friend who ended their friendship.

Suzanne had been destroyed by the cruel words, worked as a waitress, and after her most painful time, joined AA.

A side plot has Inspector Jean Guy Beauvoir getting hooked on pain killers and steadily denying it, as he relives the past violent scene by watching a video made from police body cameras.

Sifting the evidence collected by Agent Lacoste, it becomes clear to Gamache that one of the three art dealers, each seeking to represent Clara, is the murderer.

Fortin sees a chance to get back at both by giving Lillian directions to Clara’s home for the night of the party.

Lillian jumps ahead in the 12-step program, to the ninth step of asking forgiveness, long before she has the strength for the task, finding those she wronged, including Fortin.