Deb and Gavin Mahoney start their first Christmas with their new blended family, seven-year-old Hal, five-year-old Jason, and eight-month-old Essie, by attending the Davises' annual Christmas party. The joyous celebration is marred by Gavin's having to reveal a scary secret about his health, as Deb confronts a friend's deep betrayal of her trust.
As they each are haunted by numerous ghosts from their pasts, Gavin confronts accusations of morally unethical behavior for a police officer, the truth behind what happened to him and his cousin Horatio in Afghanistan, and a diagnosis of a devastating disorder that costs him his career.
His personal struggles are forced into the foreground when he thwarts an attempt on Sam and Connie's lives by a pair of criminals seeking Deb's spider ring.
Once again Gavin and Deb are drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a deeply disturbed criminal with a vendetta against Gavin Mahoney.
Over the next five days, Gavin works to uncover who is out to steal Deb's spider ring and what it has to do with a five-day blackout he suffered after a violent skirmish in Afghanistan 13 years prior. Can he figure it all out before he pays the ultimate price?