Laurent Lepage of Three Pines tells tales that are so extraordinary, no one can possibly believe him. Including Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache, who now live in the little Québec village. But when the boy disappears, the villagers are faced with the possibility that one of his tall tales might have been true. What they uncover in their frantic search for the boy sets off a sequence of events that leads to murder, an old crime, and an old betrayal. Armand, the former head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, must face the possibility that, in not believing the boy, he himself has played a terrible part in what happens next.