Newspaper reporter Bill Razer arrives very early at the state Capitol on a below-zero winter morning. A few minutes later, he is shot dead while preparing to write a scathing column aimed at hapless Governor Phillip Newman and legislative leaders.
When no helpful clues surface, Sheriff Frank Himberger enlists former ace detective Jack Rogers, who has been on a self-imposed sabbatical due to the tragic loss of his wife eight months earlier. The reunited crime-solving duo begins figuring out this baffling case with little more than a curious shadow on a security tape. Along the way, Detective Rogers interviews a fascinating young lady, and a mysterious, twisted man plots revenge against the crime-solver.