Red Knot has been betrothed to Copper Thunder in order to forge an alliance that will protect both their tribes. When she is murdered on the day of her wedding, it threatens to throw the tribal villages along the Chesapeake into a bloody war. Suspicion for the crime falls on Sun Conch, who had a relationship with the girl before she was promised away. Old Panther, a recluse, and possibly a powerful witch, is asked to look into the situation before it explodes. He is drawn into a convoluted web where it appears that everyone had good reason to wish the girl dead, and even the innocent work to obscure the trail. Eric Robbin