Passion, fear, and jealousy: emotions culminating in the murder of illicit lovers, set long-time friends on a collision course. A police investigator, the prime suspect, and two murder victims have known each other since first grade. The murder weapon, a knife once belonging to an ancestor of one of the friends, was also used in a revenge killing over a century earlier. The investigation uncovers relationships between the beautiful, sensuous wife of the current owner of the knife and four other men in the community. Twists and turns cause emotions to boil over between pals sworn to befriend each other forever. An eccentric old recluse provides clues to previously hidden information.