When the claims man returns from church on a cold winter day, he receives a phone call from his supervisor. They found a woman dead on the altar of a church which will be assigned to him. He follows the path of investigation in the small New England town.
The claims man discovers more than he bargained for when he starts his investigation he discovers that the death was caused by someone.
The novel takes us through various lives in the small town where the loyalties are not always on the side of justice. The investigator follows his instincts, which take him into resolving the murder. On the surface, the town of Newton Crossing is a sleepy little hamlet of hardworking people living in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains in Northern Connecticut. Under the layer of respectability lives a cross section of the inhabitants who observe their own agenda. The claims man wades through the mire and solves the mystery.
The author has lived within the values of a small town. He has also seen the dark side of the hamlets.
