Honolulu Police Department Detective Kai has nothing to lose-he is about to be kicked off the force and there is not a thing he can do to stop it. So when a teenage girl begs him to help her find her older sister's murderer, he understands her frustration. Disregarding his superior's directive and the parents' wishes, Kai and Ka'ena begin asking questions, pursuing the elusive truth of the last few months of the victim's life. But when they won't heed the warnings, four thugs are sent to stop them. Powerful people want this investigation ended and are willing to take strong measures to see that it is. Kai's career is threatened, key evidence is lost, and they doubt either will come out of this unscathed-but they do not stop. The trail leads them from an up-scale oceanfront manse to a rundown homeless shelter, from an industrial area bar to a church's hallowed sanctuary. Kai and Ka'ena promise each other the truth, no matter what, but find that promise hard to deliver on. She lies, he omits, but they each connect with their common experience of a home stripped of affection. This fast-paced novel introduces a compelling and contentious partnership between a young, embattled homicide detective and a defiant teenage girl who knows she's the replacement child for the perfect daughter.