''ONE ACCIDENTAL DEATH WOULD BE NEWSWORTHY. THREE IS AN ABSURDITY." Retired librarian Olema Marsh thinks a string of fatal accidents in her Eastern Sierra town of Barnstaple is more than suspicious, and when the sheriff doesn't agree, she asks Quill Gordon to investigate. Shortly after Gordon and his sidekick Peter Delaney arrive in Barnstaple, there's another 'accidental' death and a no-doubt-about-it murder. With the help of a Southern California detective trying to resurrect a cold case and a washed-up journalist trying to outsmart the police, Gordon comes to realize that the Barnstaple accidents have deep roots, going back over a lot of time and territory. And if Gordon doesn't act fast, a cunning and ruthless killer may not be finished yet.