When Nathan Smith, a prominent local banker and millionaire, is murdered, Spenser is called in to investigate Nathan's young wife, Mary, and as the evidence stacks up against her, Spenser discovers that Mary's mysterious past has put his own life in danger.

"It's December in Boston, and Spenser is busy planning the menu for Christmas dinner when he's confronted in his office by a young boy named Slide. Homeless and alone, Slide has found refuge with an organization named Street Business, which gives shelter and seeks job opportunities for the homeless and lost. Slide's mentor, Jackie Alvarez, is being threatened, and Street Business is in danger of losing its tenuous foothold in the community, turning...

When Marlene Cowley hires Spenser to see if her husband Trent is cheating on her, he encounters more than he bargained for; not only does he find a two-timing husband, but a second investigator as well, hired by the husband to look after his wife. As a result of their joint efforts, Spenser soon finds himself investigating both individual depravity and corporate corruption.

Fired from Los Angeles for drinking, Jesse Stone lands a job as police chief in a Massachusetts town whose leaders want a pushover. When a white supremacist militiaman tries murder, Stone surprises them.

During a 1974 holdup in a Boston bank by a revolutionary group calling itself the Dread Scott Brigade, Emily Gordon is shot and killed. Nobody saw who shot her and the perpetrators have remained at large for three decades. Emily's daughter decides she needs closure regarding her mother's death so she turns to Spenser to find the answers.