National Network for Equitable Library Service

Stella Crown rarely takes a break from managing her Pennsylvania dairy farm unless it’s to take a spin on her Harley, but in the midst of the Christmas season she treats herself to a new tattoo. Halfway through the sitting at Wolf Ink, her tattoo artist and his wife, Mandy, disappear into the back room and Stella dozes off. When she awakes, annoyed to realize they’ve not come back, she drives home. Before long, the police arrive to inform her that Mandy has been discovered dead: knocked out and left to freeze behind the tattoo parlor. And Wolf is nowhere to be found. Angry and guilt-stricken that she hasn’t protected her friends, Stella, something of a suspect herself, sets out to assist the cops and rescue the missing Wolf. With the help of another tattoo artist and an old flame who’s arrived at the farm, Stella dives into the world of tattooing, where she finds not only a close-knit and knowledgeable community, but also its underworld of back alley hacks, stolen designs, and violent patrons, plus some looming and controversial state legislation. Stella, stymied by more suspects than answers, is dragged yet again into a realm full of greed and danger when all she wants is to be left alone to run her farm and figure out the rest of her life. Wiser now, she also knows that to be true to herself, she must first do everything in her power to get Wolf back where he belongs.