When a mysterious figure appears on the village green on a cold November day in Three Pines|Armand Gamache|now Chief Superintendent of the Sret du Qubec|knows something is seriously wrong. Yet he does nothing. Legally|what can he do? Only watch and wait. And hope his mounting fears are not realized. From the moment its shadow falls over Three Pines|Gamache suspects the creature has deep roots and a dark purpose. When it suddenly vanishes and a body is discovered|it falls to Gamache to discover if a debt has been paid or levied. In the early days of the investigation into the murder|and months later|as the trial for the accused begins in a Montreal courtroom on a steamy day in July|the Chief Superintendent continues to struggle with actions hes set in motion|from which there is no going back. This case began in a higher court, he tells the judge|and its going to end there. And regardless of the trials outcome|he must face his own conscience. In her latest utterly gripping book|number-one New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny shatters the conventions of the crime novel to explore what Gandhi called the court of conscience. A court that supersedes all others.