Happily retired in the village of Three Pines, Armand Gamache, former Chief Inspector of Homicide with the Sûreté du Québec, has found a peace hed only imagined possible. On warm summer mornings he sits on a bench holding a small book, The Balm in Gilead, in his large hands. There is a balm in Gilead, his neighbor Clara Morrow reads from the dust jacket, to make the wounded whole.While Gamache doesnt talk about his wounds and his balm, Clara tells him about hers. Peter, her artist husband, has failed to come home. Failed to show up as promised on the first anniversary of their separation. She wants Gamaches help to find him. Having finally found sanctuary, Gamache feels a near revulsion at the thought of leaving Three Pines. Theres power enough in Heaven, he finishes the quote as he contemplates the quiet village, to cure a sin-sick soul.
