In the fifth instalment of the celebrated MacNeice Mysteries, police track a bloody trail to a grisly crime scene in the woods, uncovering a series of murders that appears to be the work of professional hitmen. When Jack is found covered in blood and bone fragments by the roadside, and his best friend, retired professor and birdwatching enthusiast Dr. Evan Moore, can't be located, Detective Superintendent MacNeice is called in to investigate. Following the blood-splattered trail along Highway 8 to a forested area, MacNeice discovers a grisly crime scene, but no bodies. Nearby, an observation blind accompanies evidence of Moore's recent presence, leading Mac and his team to believe that Jack and the professor stumbled upon a botched midnight execution in the woods. But why would the killers remove the bodies from the forest? Where are they now? When a corpse turns up on the mountain in Lincoln with two shots to the head, MacNeice suspects the work of professional hitmen and sets out to uncover the truth about who hired them -- and why.