Simon Hollingford, an Ontario Provincial Police detective, has been suspended while a charge of police brutality against him is investigated. He jumps at the chance to get away from it all by volunteering to be the radio operator for a scientific expedition in Canada's high arctic. Once in the north, his enjoyment is marred by the information that the previous year's radio man, the scientist Phillip Loew, had been lost in a storm and the body had never been found. Then a series of potentially fatal accidents sets everyone on edge. While birdwatching one day, Simon stumbles on the body of the lost man - but he hasn't died of exposure. Two bullets in the chest prove the theory that high-velocity lead poisoning can kill faster than sub-zero temperatures. All the same people are back in the north this year, which means one of them is a murderer. Amid steadily deteriorating weather conditions, Simon searches for the answer and uncovers a web of lies and hatred. Everyone had a motive for wanting Phillip Loew dead, and someone is willing to kill again to keep their secret safe...
