Neither marriage nor murder is on Magnus Torval’s agenda when he and his fiancé, Mariela, travel to the Cascade mountain town of Swiftwater, Washington. They are there for a reunion with their friends, but the recently retired police officer soon finds himself caught up in rip tides of obligations and desires. Mariela’s spontaneous wedding plans and Magnus’ discovery of a fresh corpse make for an unholy combination that threatens to drown their happiness and to jail a beloved pastor whose fellow-believers fled religious persecution in Russia. Along with a local policeman and a young Ukrainian woman, Magnus and Mariela are drawn into events that lead to upheaval for many and terror for some, exposing buried connections to art theft, organized crime and brutality during the Russian-Afghan War. Tides of memory and action, celebration and revenge converge in a climactic confrontation deep in the mountains.