Senior Constable Alan Foster faces the devastation of his beloved Pelican East as bushfires sweep through the community. Foster and his deputy race to evacuate the schools as the fires approach. They receive a plea for help from Judy Halliday, a teacher who can't get in touch with her husband. Learning that an early fire swept through the Halliday property ahead of the main front, he discovers a badly charred body with contusions on the skull and a tuft of black human hair clutched in the dead man’s fist.

Was Peter Halliday just one of many casualties of the bushfires on that day? Foster has grave misgivings. Is it true that Judy Halliday is having an affair? Was Peter in a legal battle with his brother over the family farm? And what about the rumors of a large marijuana crop hidden in the bush lands on the Halliday property – now conveniently incinerated? There’s more here than meets the eye, and Foster only has until the end of the week to prove he has a case...