The third atmospheric psychological thriller featuring detectives Cardinal and Delorme, from the award-winning author of 'Forty Words For Sorrow'.
It's early summer in Algonquin Bay and the black flies aren't the only ones out for blood. After a young red-haired woman is shot in the head with a small-calibre weapon, she cannot remember her own name or where she's from, let alone why anyone wants to hurt her. Then a body turns up, horribly mutilated. Wombat Guthrie, biker and drug dealer, has taken his last ride. Could the two cases be linked? The name 'Red Bear' keeps cropping up. An Iroquois shaman, Red Bear, has recently moved into the drug trade, enlisting the aid of the spirit world to direct his followers to rival gangs' drugs and money. In return, the 'spirits' demand sacrifice - human sacrifice.
The mysterious woman slowly regains her memory, but she may not be so innocent after all - her recovered 'memories' may not be the whole truth. And what of Red Bear? Is he really an Iroquois? A shaman? Or just a drug dealer with an appetite for brutal murder? Somehow Cardinal and Delorme must find the answers before the spirits claim another sacrifice.