Jesse Stone still misses the Paradise, Massachusetts police chief position, which he lost because the current town council president, Carter Hansen (Jeremy Akerman), wanted his son-in-law, William Butler (Jeff Geddis), to have the job. A suspicious police cruiser explosion kills chief Butler and officer DeAngelo (Vito Rezza). Curiously, the former town council president, Hastings "Hasty" Hathaway (Saul Rubinek), appeared to know about the incident before the current town council president was officially notified. Jesse is reinstated as "temp chief" by Hansen and uncovers apparent (but unproved) police corruption involving Butler. Jesse discovers a possible clue: the characters "2AH10" written on the April 24 page of Butler's desk calendar.