The setting is England, 1939, on the eve of war. Nick and his younger sister, Kate, live in a lighthouse on the smallest of the Channel Islands. Nick and Kate come to the aid of their father who is engaged in a desperate war of espionage with German U-boat wolf packs that are circling the islands. The information they provide to Winston Churchill is vital as he tries to warn England of the imminent Nazi invasion. One day Nick discovers an old sea chest, left for him by his ancestor,
At age 33, in search of a man, a second novel and a life, Manhattan writer Rebekah Kettle occupies the singleton's circle of hell. Having defaulted on her book contract, she's reduced to working as a physician's assistant for her eccentric dad, her only meaningful relationship with a senile old woman with whom she wallows in Little House on the Prairie reruns. And she's plagued by a bitchy, big-breasted gossip columnist who wants her to blurb her book. One bright spot: her brain tumor isn't fatal.
An old friend of Biggie's comes back to Job's Crossing. Rex Barnwell, along with his young wife, has returned to convert his father's ranch into a retreat for overweight teenage girls, and Biggie is forced to reveal a secret that she has always kept from J.R. Not long after this startling revelation, Rex is murdered. Knowing full well that he won't be able to keep Biggie away, the Texas Ranger in charge of the case enlists her help." "While Biggie pursues her investigation, J.R. has his hands full with troubles of his own.
Luther Abernathy is a mailman with a dangerous habit. He makes it his business to know everyone else's--and then broadcasts it all over town. But it becomes clear that someone doesn't want him--or anyone else--to know one of the many secrets that lie within Luther's veritable treasure chest of knowledge when he meets an untimely death Biggie and young J.R. are the ones to find his body. It is seemingly an accidental one, but inconsistencies in the police report suggest foul play, and Biggie once more puts on her detecting hat.
Murder's afoot when Biggie Weatherford's around, and now, fresh from Biggie and the Mangled Mortician, this lone star grandma is ready to put the bite on another ornery killer, Texas-style. It's chicken on the burner--any way you want it--in Firman Birdsong's new restaurant. Problem is, old Firman's under the table, gussied up like a prize goose, gravy on top, parsley garnish, and a blood-red tomato in his mouth. Biggie's twelve-year-old grandson, J.R. saw the dead man with his own two eyes.
