A young barmaid confessed to killing an attacker and setting the bar on fire to conceal the homicide. A year later her terminally ill mother begs former covert operative Phoenix Smith, now running a new foundation aiding crime victims, to prove her imprisoned daughter innocent and bring her home to care for her fatherless toddler. The mother's alibi for her daughter and the child's desperate situation compel Phoenix to investigate, but she decides not to tell acting sheriff Annalynn Keyser unless new evidence emerges. Another friend, foundation board member and singer Connie Diamante, insists on helping find that evidence. At the same time, Annalynn, alarmed by a series of increasingly bold burglaries, calls in Phoenix and Achilles, her K-9 dropout, to track the burglars and anticipate their next moves. Annalynn's future political career may depend on catching them before her term as sheriff ends. When someone tries to kill Phoenix and Achilles, Phoenix doesn't know whether the danger stems from her efforts to free the young mother or to capture the daring thief. Phoenix must smoke out the killer to save her own and others' lives.