Bay Street was busy with visitors enjoying another warm July night. Lovers holding hands, parents laughing with their children, people staring at a map. None of them aware of the evil just below the surface of Petoskey’s most trusted institution.

It’s summertime in Petoskey. Michael Russo investigates the theft of a valuable collection of books from Bannister College, a small, elite liberal arts school on the outskirts of town. The case takes a dangerous turn when the Dean of Sciences is shot to death and fear stalks the campus. Faculty and administrators detest the disruption dropped on their quiet academic community by the police and the press. When Russo makes a surprising discovery that threatens Petoskey’s most revered institution, it’s unclear what the impact will be on Bannister, the community and Michael Russo himself.