Cirrus@Austlit

'She might be broken, but he's the one who needs rescuing.

'Lacey Carmichael is the daughter of a rich, influential family, and has led a sheltered life. Until she witnesses a horrific crime while working as a junior constable and decides to leave her job and simplify her life by travelling around Tasmania in her Kombi van. But her vehicle breaks down, and she becomes stranded in a tiny backwater town.

'Detective Nico Favreau approaches to offer his help, but in the dark Lacey mistakes him for a mugger and uses her Judo skills to incapacitate him. Ending up on the ground, Nico's ego takes a beating, but when the sight of the blood on his face, triggers flashbacks for Lacey, he takes it on himself to offer her a place to stay.

'But this sleepy little township is not all it seems and on an early morning walk, Lacey responds to a call for help, only to find a woman unconscious, suffering stab wounds to her chest, lying in her front yard. But there is nothing Lacey can do to save the woman, and Lacey is now caught up in a murder investigation.

'A suspected serial killer is haunting the Tasmanian coastline, and Nico thinks the dead girl might be another of his victims. Stuck in Boat Harbour, and against her wishes, Lacey is drawn deeper into the conspiracy and lies that only a small town can hold. When she becomes the next target of the killer, Nico must do everything in his power and put his job on the line to save her.' (Publication summary)