Accidents happen in the waters of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Professor Sidney Lake knows this and although he has regret for a life cut short, he doesn't think twice about George Reed's drowning. But his Gullah housekeeper, Tillie James, has other ideas. Insistent that this was no accident, and equally insistent that George's wife Becky is not to blame, she tells him something must be done.
Tillie says that despite the coroner and the police declaring George's death as not suspicious, people are talking. And with Becky Reed being unofficially accused around town, Tillie enlists Professor Lake to help find the truth.
With the help of a graduate assistant, the local minister, and a retired police officer, Sidney and Tillie begin digging. When the tidal charts show the death was a deliberate act, Sidney knows he is on the right track. But so does the killer, and now Sidney and his friends are in line to be the next victims.