I assumed the worst I'd have to endure at a boring birthday party was cheap champagne, and dull conversation. Murder never crossed my mind.

After three months of struggling to fit into the small town of Rainy Dale, Texas, Maxwell Thornton is once again thrown into the middle of a murder investigation. While attending Mayor Penelope Granger's birthday party, he and Royce are witnesses to the cold blooded murder of her father.

Seeing as he's sheriff, Royce has no choice but to get involved in solving the murder, but he'd prefer Maxwell stay at a safe distance. Maxwell would prefer that too, but when an attempt in made on his life, he's unwillingly sucked into the case.

When Maxwell moved to Rainy Dale, he'd hoped for a new beginning. But after two attempts on his life, and his unnerving emotional attachment to Royce, more and more Maxwell wonders if staying in Rainy Dale is the logical choice. Perhaps it's time to run back to Los Angeles, where he can keep his body, and his heart, safe.