Trouble erupts at Todd Copper Mine where Elaine works for her uncle, Aaron Todd. Elaine has been raised by Uncle Arron, an immensely precise and exacting man. As the book opens, Aaron clashes with the mine's foreman, Brad Winters, and during an angry confrontation, fires him. That night in a drunken rage Brad shows up at Aaron's isolated lodge—and the result is murder

Amid this disaster, Aaron's long-time rival and original business partner, Vince Gillette, unexpectedly appears at the lodge, adding a new dimension to the deep mystery that surrounds the mine. Elaine, Uncle Aaron's direct and only heir, finds herself with no one to trust, not the man she is engaged to, Bill Mead, not even her longtime confident, key worker in the mine's operation, Karl Harper or his beautiful and unfaithful wife, Elizabeth. Working alone in her desperate attempt to find the killer, Elaine finds herself unprepared for this Wake of Evil.