Lane Winslow is enjoying a summer day at the lake when she spots a gravely injured young man drifting in a sinking rowboat. Suffering from exposure, bleeding, and barely conscious, he is unable to identify himself or explain his grisly condition. Inspector Darling and Constable Ames are quick to pick up the case, but leads are few until an unsettling clue found on the beach - a bright red swastika lapel pin - points to the fascist National Unity Party. When the anonymous victim succumbs to his injuries, Darling, Ames, and Lane are once again drawn into a murder investigation that rings with alarming echoes of the war they thought they'd left behind.