Mary Minor "Harry" Harristeen investigates a murder in Albermarle County, Virginia with assistance from her beloved pets, including cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter and dogs Pirate and Tucker.

"With the August heat strong enough to melt solid chocolate into syrup, Jake and Ellie crave a break from the bakery ovens, despite tourist season promising a sweet payday. But they never envisioned spending the last weeks of summer drifting around Passamaquoddy Bay searching for pirate's treasure--and a dead body. Sally Coates believes her husband was murdered off the coast, and begs Ellie, a trusted childhood friend, to locate his remains. It's...