Newly wed sleuth Beni Harper, the cowgirl who became a quiltmaker, visits her husband's family in Kansas just in time to investigate the murder of a quilter who left her Amish husband. In the process, Beni discovers her marriage is much like the Kansas weather: unexpected and bound to be stormy.

A senior citizens' prom in San Celina is disrupted by murder. Museum curator Benni Harper investigates the Japanese community to which the victim contributed financially in World War II. It turns out his charity did not come from the heart, but was the result of blackmail by two ladies of the town. By the author of Fool's Puzzle.

Soon after arriving in Sugartree, Arkansas - where she spent many lazy, languid childhood summer - Benni discovers that there's something seriously sinister brewing in this small town. Two churches are planning on merging, but just the thought of a racially mixed congregation is just a little too much for some people to handle. And Benni's downright worried about her friend Amen - as the first black woman to run for mayor, she's taking a lot of heat...