The Story in Brief

Gene's father Stan is a detective and is Gene's hero. Father and son are away at Boy Scout camp when Vi, Stan's wife, Gene's mother, is shot dead. She seemingly was an innocent by-stander. Father and son share grief and the determination to find the killer. But the case remains unsolved and finally is shelved. 17 years later Gene is also a detective, father and son are on the same elite squad, and Stan is still Gene's hero. Then Gene learns that before her murder his "saintly" mother had a love affair—with another woman—and that his father found out.