Synopsis: New Year in a quiet coastal community, but what begins as an investigation into the whereabouts of a missing girl soon becomes a much darker concern when her mutilated body is discovered in a local churchyard, and the hunt is on for a killer who seemingly has no identity. In a world where priests have lost their faith, the people have lost hope, the innocent become victims, and even the police force seems to be turning against itself, Detective James Grant is a man with a troubled past... and a few unpleasant secrets of his own. The darkest hour is just before the dawn. But that hour can be so very dark. Joseph Freeman's latest novel is unlike any he has written before. A taut and unsettling thriller that asks uncomfortable questions and makes the reader look into the deepest parts of their hearts and minds for the answers.