A broken marriage and a drinking problem propels LAPD cop Jesse Stone into accepting what he believes will be a peaceful job as police chief in the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts, but he quickly learns that the surface quiet of the community masks a hotbed of crime, and he must choose whether he will be a hero or a dupe.

Ten years after hit man Crow Cromartie escapes with the spoils of a lucrative heist, Massachusetts police officer Jesse Stone is astonished when the fugitive enlists his cooperation with a job gone bad involving a young woman whose father wants her killed.

Investigating a thrill-seeking pair of serial killers who are targeting the residents of an affluent suburban town, police chief Jesse Stone finds his job complicated by local politicians, the media, his drinking problem, and his ex-wife.