The temperature outside is dropping like a stone, but for Detective Jake Daggers, things are finally heating up. He's on solid ground with his partner, Steele, he's overcome his personal demons, and his most recent homicide seems delightfully run-of-the-mill.

Until someone from Daggers' past rears his unwelcome head.

Now secrets are being unearthed, like roots of a fallen tree—one that could be rotten to its core. And it's Daggers doing the digging, without anyone to watch his back.

A chill wind blows, and snowflakes are falling. They burn—like droplets of CRUCIBLE STEELE.