Ex-cop Fred Carver investigates a death at a Florida funeral home whose residents don't always die of natural causes

Retirement is a word that has always frightened Fred Carver. One of Orlando's finest, he retired early—when a criminal's bullet shattered his kneecap and made him unfit for beat work. Since then he hasn't been able to relax, and fills his days and nights investigating cases the local police aren't willing to touch. Now one of those cops has come to him with a problem that only a private detective can solve.

It takes Fred into the heart of Florida's retirement community: a spacious estate called Sunhaven where the elderly can finish their lives in luxury. But it seems that some of them are dying before their time. When the residents speak of murder, are they telling the truth, or are they simply confused? Unraveling the mystery will take Fred Carver into a place where death is seldom the result of natural causes.