Thirty years after an unsolved bank robbery leaves a woman dead, Paul Giacomin, whom Spenser regards like a son, and Daryl Gordon, the son of the robbery victim, turn to Spenser to seek out clues about the crime.

When 51-year-old Nathan Smith is found in his bed with a hole in his head, it's hard not to imagine Nathan's young bride, Mary, as the one with her finger on the trigger. Even her lawyer thinks she's guilty. But Mary Smith is entitled to the best defense she can afford, so Spenser hires on. Mary claims she was watching TV in the other room when the murder occurred. But the couple was seen fighting at a high-profile cocktail party earlier that evening...