Being Sheriff is a hard job, even in a town like Midsummer. The law is the law, and when magic is thrown into the mix, everything gets more complicated. Kirby is lonely and worn out, and his latest unpleasant duty is contacting the brother of a recent suicide. Given the complications surrounding the tragedy, and just how loathed the deceased man was in Midsummer, meeting his brother is not something Kirby is any hurry to do.

But when he arrives, Merry is nothing like his deceased brother—nothing like anything Kirby has seen in a long time, and quite possibly a reason to feel things Kirby thought he'd never feel again.