At least his ragged outer attire makes the deceased appear to be a vagrant. However, Police Lieutenant Joe Gunther has some doubts as the dead person wore clean underwear and his body has toxic sores all over it.
Witnesses claim that three men left the victim by the tracks.
As Joe digs into the train incident, a brutal double murder occurs. Joe sees no link until he receives an anonymous tip connecting a local politician to the three dead people. Joe begins to look deeper, not yet realizing that he is caught in the middle of a deadly power struggle that has its roots in a past decade. The story line is exciting as Joe methodically works his two investigations. Vermont and secondary characters add to the color of the tale.