Sergeant Cory Marin and Detective Washington investigate the overdose death of a college student and find that everyone involved is lying or has something to hide. The more questions they ask, the more they suspect something very bad has happened. When the corpse of a young man is found in a swamp, their suspicions are confirmed. Their investigation leads them to the creeks and marshes of the Gulf coast, a land of small towns, fishermen, and smugglers, and they discover a subculture of drug importers, dealers, and users, a world dominated by greed. As Cory struggles to untangle a story of innocence gone awry, she wades through an emotional marshland of her own as she adjusts to the idea that she will be a mother herself. How can she protect her child from the dangers he or she will face? With so much in flux in her life, her partnership with Washington provides a stabilizing influence, but as their friendship deepens, her feelings for him threaten to upset the fragile stability of her world.