In his grittiest investigation to date, Jesse Stone hunts for the killer of a woman whose body washes up on shore.

The investigation comes to a halt shortly after she is identified, until Jesse acquires a tape of Flo having sex with two men at the same time.

She claims that a man took her onto his yacht, The Lady Jane, forces her to strip for his friends and then rapes her in his cabin.

Jesse strikes up a partnership with Miami detective Kelly Cruz, and has her interview Flo's parents and Kimmie.

Kelly Cruz also interviews Darnell's private pilot and discovers that he flew her to Boston a few days before her murder.

Finally Chief Stone discovers through Flo's father's E-ZPass that he drove to Boston the week that she was murdered, although he denies the trip.

Cathleen's apparent rape, revealed to be consensual, is the only significant plot detail maintained in the film, though relegated to a subplot.

The novel received a positive response from the majority of critics, including Publishers Weekly, who described the dialogue as "witty, flirtatious, droll, and sexually charged".