Greed and deception drive the action in this tenth entry in the award-winning series, set in South Carolina's sultry Lowcountry.
When bank employee Cecelia Dobbs approaches Bay Tanner's inquiry agency, Bay has no idea her association with the awkward young woman will lead to murder. Concerned that one of her colleagues may be running a scam on the elderly and very wealthy Castlemains of Hilton Head Island, Cecelia is seeking proof she can take to the authorities. The other object of her suspicion is the couple's caretaker, flamboyant Kendra Blaine, whose interest in teller Dalton Chambers may be more than just as partners-incrime. When Mrs. Castlemain dies suddenly of an apparent heart attack, less than twenty-four hours after she accepts the case, Bay is stunned.
Still mourning the loss of her father, Bay is also trying to adjust to her recent marriage. Since joining Bay's staff, Red has been chafing under the constraints of working for his wife, and Bay finds herself wondering if something deeper is amiss with their relationship.
Then Cecelia disappears, and the Castlemains' grandson, Washington lobbyist Nicholas Potter, tries to hire the agency to investigate Kendra. He, too, believes she could be dangerous- or so he claims. Torn between her unwilling attraction to the charismatic Nick and her growing fears about Cecelia, Bay discovers that divided loyalties can be painful-and sometimes fatal.
