On a freezing night in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, a night that wouldn't feel so unusual if it wasn't the Fourth of July, an antique wooden boat plows full-speed into a line of old railroad pilings in the shallow waters of Waishkey Bay. With Alex McKnight on the rescue mission, the passengers are brought safely to shore. Alex figures the story's over... but he's dead wrong.
The boat accident's happy ending turns into a living hell for Alex when he discovers that the three men he saved are actually connected to a deadly drug-smuggling syndicate that has his girlfriend, Ontario police officer Natalie Reynaud, deep undercover five hundred miles away. Now it's up to Alex to do damage control on both sides of the border - and protect the woman he loves - before th cycle of violence comes around full circle...