The fact that Roe and her group eventually became involved in a real murder led to many changes in her life. The group has disbanded, some moving away, and others simply no longer able to enjoy the process of a murder mystery.

Roe herself has inherited a home and some money from an older woman friend, and now finds herself having resigned from her job at the library (which had become part-time because of budget cuts), and thinking about possibly joining her mother in the real estate business.

When her mother is delayed at a closing, she sends Roe ahead to show a large house that is for sale to a new man in town. He's Martin Bartell who is quite a bit older than she is, and he's been brought in to make the local plant more efficient and profitable. As Roe is showing him the house, they find the body of another woman realtor, which has been left in the master bedroom, very, very dead.

Thus opens the mystery of who would have had access to the house. Is it another realtor in Lawrenceton, or is it someone who is using the sales of the homes as a way to get into them to rob and murder?

Complicating things even more for Roe is her strong attraction to Martin. She's been dating the local Episcopalian minister who doesn't believe in sex before marriage. This very chaste relationship has been nice, but certainly not terribly exciting. Now she finds that there is a strong charge of sexual tension anytime she's near Martin.

The mystery in the book is tightly plotted. Roe and her mother are delightful to know, and the town of Lawrenceton and its inhabitants are interesting and real. Not to mention that Roe's attraction to and ultimate dating of Martin lends the book a nice bit of sexual tension.