Bay Tanner's fledgling detective agency gets off the ground when she, the Judge, and Eric Whiteside look into the murder of an old college friend of Eric's. Right before he was killed, Grey Palmer Jr. contacted Eric to tell him that while working as an archeologist on the islands off of Beaufort, SC, he had found the remains of a man who was recently killed. The next day, Grey's body is found underwater, tied to his boat, his face mutilated by the boat's propeller. As Bay and Eric get closer to the truth, they find themselves uncovering secrets that have long been buried.