When the body of a young woman is discovered deep beneath the icy waters of Lake Grant; a note left under a rock by the shore points to suicide. But within minutes; it becomes clear that this is no suicide. It's a brutal; cold-blooded murder. All too soon former Grant County medical examiner Sara Linton - home for Thanksgiving after a long absence - finds herself unwittingly drawn into the case. The chief suspect is desperate to see her but when she arrives at the local police station she is met with a horrifying sight - he lies dead in his cell; the words 'Not me' scrawled across the walls. Something about his confession doesn't add up and deeply suspicious of Lena Adams; the detective in charge; Sara immediately calls in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Shortly afterwards; Special Agent Will Trent is brought in from his vacation to investigate. But he is immediately confronted with a wall of silence. Grant County is a close-knit community with loyalties and ties that run deep. And the only person who can tell the truth about what really happened is dead.