No good deed goes unpunished. Apprentice investigator Cybil Quindt never paid much attention to that saying until the cold days of December when three people in the homeless shelter where she volunteers are poisoned. Though the powers that be would like to blame the killings on the homeless community, Cybil suspects that the murderer is someone who would profit by closing the shelter, which occupies a prime real estate location.

Before she can investigate, she is hired by an industrial maven to tail a husband suspected of philandering. When he and his pregnant mistress are murdered, Cybil is fleetingly tempted to believe in absolute evil. However, a break-in at the shelter, the stalking presence of a mysterious figure, and an attack on her life convince Cybil that the murders are connected and rooted in greed, jealousy, and hate.