While in Smarr, Alabama, to visit her husband Mitch's family, Ellie Avery is immersed in a murder investigation when Mitch's Grandpa Franklin dies under mysterious circumstances in a place where genteel Southern tradition collides with greed and deadly passion.

"After finding out her military husband is missing in action, middle sister Sloane's world crumbles as her worst nightmare comes true. She can barely climb out of bed, much less summon the strength to be the parent her children deserve. Her mother, Ansley, provides a much-needed respite as she puts her personal life on hold to help Sloane and her grandchildren wade through their new grief-stricken lives. But between caring for her own aging mother,...

Seeing the sights in Washington, D.C., while her husband attends military training, a very pregnant Ellie Avery finds mystery in the nation's capital when the man she is supposed to meet as a favor for her cousin is murdered on his way to see her.