Big Bill Stanwood is a lost man since his beloved wife, Katie, died. He has left his job in the homicide division of the Los Angeles Police Department; detective work has no interest for him anymore But Bill must keep the promise he made to Katie. He must travel to Ireland, find his wife’s younger sister Noreen, and bring her Katie’s blessing.

After unsuccessfully seeking her at an old address in Dublin, Stanwood arrives in Rosslare, the tiny town where the sisters had been born. He considers it a lucky coincidence that Noreen is there—working in the hotel where he’s staying. She greats him with delight, then runs off to an appointment, promising to meet him later. And Stanwood never sees her again until her battered body turns up on the hotel’s golf links.

The instinct of his twenty year profession stirs within him, and Stanwood doggedly sets out to find Noreen’s killer. His search sends him to the fringes of Irelands violent political factions, where he uncovers another murder which puts him in dire peril of his own life.