Happily retired in the village of Three Pines, Armand Gamache, former Chief Inspector of Homicide with the Sûreté du Québec, has found a peace he’d only imagined possible. While he doesn’t talk about his wounds and his balm, his neighbor Clara Morrow tells him about hers. Peter, her artist husband, has failed to come home, and she wants Gamache’s help to find him. Having finally found sanctuary, Gamache feels a near revulsion at the thought of leaving Three Pines. But he does.