Cobie Small was Nashtoba's local die-hard drunk who inhabited a floating wreck offshore. It's a shock when Cobie shows up at a local bar flashing a wad of cash, and even more shocking when his dead body is hauled in the next morning with a net full of mackerel. Now, Peter Bartholomew and his errant sister, Polly, wind up investigating the case, and find themselves in Deep Water.