It is the middle of the night when pathologist Toni Day receives a callfrom the coroner informing her that the notoriously sleazy local attorney,Jay Braithwaite Burke, has just been found dead in his Mercedes inthe middle of a snowy interstate. Unfortunately, everyone at PerrineMemorial Hospital where Toni works knows Burke. Over the years,he managed to talk nearly the entire medical staff into investing intohis hedge fund. After it was revealed they had all foolishly investedin a Ponzi scheme, the feds moved in and he disappeared. Now, twomonths later, Toni is about to perform his autopsy.It is no secret around town that many might have wished the attorneydead, including Toni and her husband, Hal. As she delves into Burkesautopsy, Toni already knows they have few clues to go on; when she learnsthe man bled to death, she suspects it was a homicide. To complicatematters further, Burkes partner also dies in suspicious circumstances, andBurkes widow and children are left homeless by a series of house fires. With a brutal schedule and doubts about her husbands faithfulness,Tonis life is already complex enough.But when a mysterious illness casts a bloody pall over the holiday season,Toni must rely on her pathological expertise to unmask a killer andrescue herself and everyone she loves from a bloody death.