Liza "Liz" Romero steers her old boat Salmon Eye in and out of small Alaskan ports delivering cargo and books, constantly flirting with danger in the waters around Wrangell Island. Yet even Liz isn't prepared for what awaits her one November morning. A sudden crash rocks the Salmon Eye, bringing Liz running from the wheelhouse to the foredeck expecting submerged rocks or another vessel. Instead she sees a humpback whale diving over the boat, narrowly missing the deck. Then Henry Sizemore, an Alaska State Wildlife Protection Agency officer, disappears. He isn't there for the expected delivery of the hydrophones he ordered.
Both Liz and Wrangell police officer Paul Howard are convinced the whales and dolphins of Sumner Strait are dangerously disoriented. Meanwhile, Tim "Tango" has something to hide, and Mink, the maverick owner of the Velvet Moose bar is out of control. Scott Beringer, newly arrived marine biologist, knows something about "Tango," even while hiding his own past. Alaska may be a haven where you can hide, yet it is a wilderness fraught with danger. It takes someone like Liz Romero to tame its mysteries.