It was only the first lie... As the snow drives down and the full force of a Buffalo winter makes itself felt, a man's body is found. Barely recognisable, the only clues the police have are the '1' carved into the victim's face and the killer's sinister calling card, a plastic toy monkey. This is 'The County' - the 27th county of Ireland - a city cocooned in secrets, suspicion and blood feuds, where the residents will do anything to protect their own. And for Detective Absalom Kearney, this case is her one chance to prove to a community more fiercely secretive than ever, that even the most heinous of murderers can be stopped. But as her investigation develops and the killer starts sending her cryptic messages, Absalom finds herself in a race not only to halt them but also to stop The County's residents exacting their own form of justice. Because at the heart of this community there is the darkness peculiar to those forgotten by society, and this darkness will affect Absalom's life in ways she could never have imagined...