When the wealthiest inhabitant of a small, isolated island community in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is murdered, with his wife as the prime suspect, homicide detective Sime Mackenzie becomes convinced of her innocence in spite of mounting evidence against her.

The male Caucasian corpse - marked by several horrific stab wounds - is initially believed by its finders to be over two-thousand years old. Until they spot the Elvis tattoo on his right arm. The body, it transpires, is not evidence of an ancient ritual killing, but of a murder committed during the latter half of the twentieth century. Meanwhile, Fin Macleod has returned to the island of his birth. Having left his wife, his life in Edinburgh and his...