In the scorching heat of a Cochise County summer, an eighty-six-year-old bullet leaves a brutal trail across the high desert.

Sheriff Joanna Brady seeks an elusive and chillingly brutal killer whose crimes run deep into the past in the next New York Times bestseller from the author of Partner in Crime

When a recluse is gunned down inside her trailer on the San Pedro River, Joanna finds seventeen dead dogs. Ballistics tests reveal the bullets were manufactured in 1917, linking the murder to an eighty-six-year-old arsenal.

The investigation deepens when the vintage ammunition matches a double homicide across the state line in New Mexico. Facing a bitter reelection campaign, Joanna tracks a secretive killer determined to keep the truth buried.

• Police Procedural Mysteries: Drawing on forensic analysis of 1917 Colt ammunition and ballistics databases, Joanna conducts a meticulous multi-jurisdiction inquiry across county lines.
• Small Town Investigation: Between campaign appearances in Bisbee and holiday events across Cochise County, Joanna juggles demanding public duties while shielding her family from mounting danger.
• American Southwest: The rugged terrain around Tombstone, the San Pedro River, and the Mule Mountains provides an atmospheric backdrop charged by sudden summer monsoon storms.
• Also by This Author: Nothing to Lose, Second Watch and Missing and Endangered.