Detective Duncan Hatcher has no reason to like Cato Laird, the judge who let Robert Savich, a Savannah crime lord, slip through the cracks by declaring a mistrial over a juror conflict. But Duncan is all business when he and his partner DeeDee Bowen are called to Laird's house one night to find Laird's beautiful wife, Elise, has fatally shot an intruder. Duncan and DeeDee are immediately suspicious of Elise, who managed to kill the man, Gary Ray Trotter, with a single, precise shot. Elise denies knowing Trotter, but Duncan isn't comfortable dismissing the case as self-defense. When Elise comes to him with the seemingly preposterous assertion that her adoring husband actually wants her dead, Duncan is more suspicious of her, even as his attraction to her grows. He continues to pursue the investigation, despite the fact that Cato himself clearly considers the case closed. But when Elise's car is discovered on a bridge with a dead man in it and no sign of Elise herself, Duncan realizes he may have misjudged Elise and fears it might be too late to help her.