Jesse Stone is back on the job after a stint in rehab, and the road to recovery is immediately made bumpy by a series of disturbing and apparently racially motivated crimes, beginning with the murder of an African American woman. Then, Jesse's own deputy Alisha --- the first black woman hired by the Paradise police force --- becomes the target of a sophisticated frame-up. At the same time, a mysterious young man named Cole Slayton rolls into town with a chip on his shoulder and a problem with authority --- namely, Jesse. Yet something about the angry twenty-something appeals to Jesse, and he takes Cole under his wing. But there's more to him than meets the eye, and his secrets might change Jesse's life forever.