For Haley Richardson, fear does have a smell. So do hate and happiness.
A head injury as a child gave Haley an extraordinary sense of smell. Her gift allows Haley and her German shepherd, Jax, to be one of the most successful search and rescue teams in the Midwest. Her gift is also a curse as she detects people's feelings. For her sanity, she's reclusive until each time she's called on to find the lost.
When girls begin disappearing with tragic results in her hometown, Haley teams with the county's new sheriff, Dane Campbell, to find the killer.
Haley is drawn to the outgoing sheriff, whose daughter is emotionally damaged. After a lifetime of feeling like an outsider, though, Haley is reluctant to get involved with the child, whose melancholy threatens to overwhelm Haley.
As the murders test Haley's gift and skills, she learns that sometimes a search and rescue can be about the heart, and the heart can lead the way home.